Friday night’s Premier League offering comes from Craven Cottage this week, as European hopefuls Fulham welcome basement battlers Wolverhampton Wanderers to the capital.

The two sides were on the opposite ends of 1-0 scorelines last weekend, as the Cottagers edged past Brighton & Hove Albion, while Julen Lopetegui’s men went down to Bournemouth.

There was a time not too long ago when Wolves were threatening to upset the European apple cart while Fulham tried to end their reputation as a yo-yo team, but a couple of years is a long time in football, and Marco Silva’s crop are now the ones with continental football firmly in their sights.

Taking on fellow Europa League chasers Brighton at the Amex last weekend, Fulham somehow quelled the Seagulls onslaught – which saw Brighton have 21 shots on goal compared to just five for Silva’s men – but when it mattered most, substitute Manor Solomon made no mistake to clinch the unlikeliest of wins in the 88th minute.

Fulham boss Marco Silva was quick to praise the ‘resilience, desire and belief’ of his side following a 1-0 win at Brighton. That result left them with at least ten more points than they accrued in either of their last two entire Premier League (PL) campaigns, and perhaps more importantly, just two shy of the widely accepted 40-point threshold for top-flight safety.

In order to reach that goal here, Fulham will have to stop a five-game winless run of H2Hs against Wolves (D2, L3), but they seem well placed to do so with only Manchester United winning more PL games than Fulham’s six since the restart (W6, D1, L2). That’s not to mention the fact that Fulham are on course for a fourth straight top-flight clean sheet for the first time since 2001!

Julen Lopetegui’s Wolves will be well aware of Fulham’s defensive prowess, which is perhaps bad news as they were all bark and no bite when failing to score against the worst defensive outfit in the PL, Bournemouth, last time out.

It’s been a mixed start to Lopetegui’s reign in league action (W4, D1, L3), although those 13 points have proven crucial in earning a three-point cushion to the relegation zone.

After winning their most recent trip here by a slender 1-0 margin, Wolves will now look to post back-to-back Craven Cottage victories for the first time since 1962 and provisionally extend their gap to the drop zone. Another tense affair would surprise few, not least because only PL games involving three other sides have averaged fewer goals than the 2.13 produced in Wolves’ league outings this season.

Players to watch: Fulham’s Manor Solomon has scored from the bench in the last two rounds and could become the first Israeli to score in three straight top-flight games in over 30 years.

Although Wolves have benefitted from opposition own goals in two of their last three games, it was their own super sub, January signing João Gomes, who scored their last winning goal from the bench on his PL debut.

Hot stat: Just one of Wolves’ nine Friday-held PL games ended level (W4, D1, L4).

Fulham Premier League form:

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Fulham form (all competitions):

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Wolverhampton Wanderers Premier League form:

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Wolverhampton Wanderers form (all competitions):

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Fulham possible starting lineup:

Leno; Tete, Diop, Ream, Robinson; Reed, Palhinha; Solomon, Pereira, Willian; Vinicius

Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:

Sa; Semedo, Kilman, Dawson, Bueno; Lemina, Neves, Nunes; Traore, Podence, Sarabia

Fireworks have not flown very often in clashes between these two teams recently, and another closely-fought affair may be on the cards if Fulham work around the absence of Mitrovic again.

Wolves’ continued lack of potency in the final third should cost them dear against the Cottagers’ steadfast backline, and while it may not be pretty, we still have faith in Fulham to find a way through and further their European charge.