Cardiff City travel to Craven Cottage to face Fulham on Thursday for the second leg of their Championship play-off semi-final, with the hosts sitting on a comfortable 2-0 lead.
It’s fair to say that Fulham completely outplayed Cardiff in the first leg and definitely deserve to be in pole position in the tie.
Josh Onomah opened the scoring early in the second half with a stunning solo effort that saw him glide past a number of Cardiff defenders before slotting the ball calmly into the net.
Fulham dominated throughout, but they didn’t score their second until the 91st minute. Neeskens Kebano curled in an inch-perfect free-kick late one to cap off a fine display.
Cardiff only managed five shots, while Fulham racked up 14. Scott Parker’s side also enjoyed 66% possession, underlining their dominance.
Furthermore, Fulham did it all without their top scorer Aleksandar Mitrovic. The Serbian striker – who sits at the top of the Championship goalscoring charts with 26 goals – was injured for the first leg.
Fulham finished fourth in the final Championship standings, level with third-place Brentford on 81 points and eight points ahead of fifth-place Cardiff.
The Welsh outfit actually scored four more goals than the Londoners throughout the campaign, although Fulham’s defensive record is far superior.
Fulham are now unbeaten in their previous eight outings, while Cardiff’s three-game winning streak was brought to an end on Monday.
Head-to-head: The two sides played out a 1-1 draw in their first meeting this season before Fulham claimed another 2-0 win over Cardiff less than three weeks ago.
Fulham are now unbeaten in their last four meetings with Cardiff – three wins, one draw – and have only lost one of their previous 12 matches against the Bluebirds.
Team news: It is unclear whether or not Mitrovic will be fit for the second leg. Meanwhile, winger Ivan Cavaleiro and centre-back Terence Kongolo are close to returning from injury for Fulham.
As for Cardiff, Neil Harris has no fresh injury concerns ahead of Thursday’s clash. But the manager is likely to shake things up after a disappointing first leg performance.
Given the two-goal deficit, the visitors will need to throw everything they’ve got at Fulham. However, a reckless approach could work against Cardiff.
Forebet predicts that both teams will score over 1.5 goals, with the game likely to end in a draw.