Middlesbrough find themselves in a real mess down near the bottom of the Championship as Saturday’s hosts sit just one league position and 1 point above the relegation zone and third from bottom club, Huddersfield Town.
Middlesbrough grabbed a point at aforementioned Huddersfield Town during the week with a 0-0 draw at the John Smith’s Stadium and although this was a decent point on the road for Jonathan Woodgate’s side, this result has extended Boro’s winless run in the Championship to 6 matches.
Within this poor 6-match sequence, Middlesbrough have suffered 4 defeats to Cardiff City, Sheffield Wednesday, Birmingham City and West Brom along with 2 draws with Preston North End and Huddersfield Town.
This means that Middlesbrough have gained just 2 points from the last possible 18 on offer and having won just 2 of their 13 matches played to date in this season’s Championship, Middlesbrough manager, Woodgate, is now living on borrowed time.
Boro’s current situation is worlds apart from last season’s as former manager, Tony Pulis, steered Middlesbrough to within a whisker of a play-off spot, but another defeat on Saturday to Fulham could seal Woodgate’s fate.
By contrast, Fulham sit just outside the play-off pack but level on points with 6th placed Preston North End ahead of this weekend’s action in the Championship, thanks to a midweek 3-2 home win against Luton Town on Wednesday night.
Scott Parker’s side started brightly enough despite an opening day defeat to Barnsley as The Cottagers won 3 of their first 4 matches of the season, but the London club then suffered a 4-match slump where they lost to Nottingham Forest and drew 3 on the trot with Cardiff City, West Brom and Sheffield Wednesday - which were not bad results in the big scheme of things.
Fulham have since returned to winning ways though as the visitors have picked up wins against Wigan Athletic, Reading and Luton Town, and another three points at the Riverside Stadium this Saturday against Middlesbrough could lift Fulham up into the top six.
After their loss at Barnsley, Fulham have lost just once in their subsequent 5 matches on their travels in the Championship but have picked up wins at Huddersfield Town and Reading.
Middlesbrough are in a real mess at the moment while Fulham have the prospect of moving up into the top six as incentive here. Fulham to sneak the points here.