Marco Silva wants to see a reaction from his Fulham players against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Monday night ahead of a “really important” month for the west London club.
Defeat at Aston Villa before the international break meant Fulham lost back-to-back matches for the first time this season and extended their concerning run of form to just one win in seven games and no wins in their last four.
Fulham have faced difficult fixtures in the past month, against Brighton, Manchester United, Tottenham and Villa, but they lacked consistency across those matches which were affected by self-inflicted errors. Silva is keen to address the team’s form ahead of an important month, with nine fixtures to play before the new year.
“We want to show a reaction,” said Silva. “We know that the last month was tough for us, with a tough schedule, but performance wise, we have to do better. We know that. We have not been consistent during matches.
“Apart from the (1-0 defeat by) Manchester United, we just reacted second half after not so good first halves. We want to be consistent from the first minute.
“(This month) is really important. A lot of the games will be big, if not huge. Our players are ready for that period.”
Silva confirmed that Fulham will be without four players for Monday’s game, namely Rodrigo Muniz (knee), Tyrese Francois, Issa Diop (foot) and Adama Traore (hamstring).
Diop is now closer to a return after a foot injury sustained against Sheffield United, and has resumed individual training, while Traore has suffered a set back from a recent hamstring injury.
“It won’t take a long time, we believe, but we have to take care of him,” said Silva. “Rodrigo, let’s hope we have him back from the middle of December.”
Tosin Adarabioyo will be available for the game against Wolves, following a groin issue.
“We have more sessions to prepare the game, he’s trained with the team for the last 10 days,” added Silva. “Last game I decided not to put him in the squad list because he was not ready to go. I’ll have a conversation with him and then decide.”
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Raul Jimenez is available to face his former club, and will do so after breaking his goalscoring duck for Fulham.
The Mexico international broke a 33-game run without a goal in the Premier League against Aston Villa and Silva is hopeful that he can now kick on.
“It was really important for him,” said Silva. “It’s not the same feeling when you score but lose the game. But it takes the weight off his back. It has been tough for him.
“I hope now he can keep working hard, because he never gave up, always trying to help the team. Scoring a goal was a lift for him and we are going to see more confidence for sure.”
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(Photo: Alex Pantling/Getty Images)