Struggling Stoke visit Fulham
LONDON (SE) - Two of the Premier League's mid-table sides meet at Craven Cottage on Saturday afternoon when Fulham host Stoke City.
Two late goals saw Stoke win 2-0 when these sides met earlier in the season, but Fulham goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer is confident of his team getting a result this time around.
"They're a very tough opponent with the way they play football, and the support they get from their fans is at times quite intimidating," said Schwarzer. "You know what to expect from Stoke, you know their style of football. It's been well talked about, well documented the style of football they actually pose so you prepare for it all week and we're playing at home and hopefully we can get the three points which we desperately want to get.
"I think what we always do is look to get to 40 points as quickly as possible and the sooner you get there the sooner you can look to finish as high as possible in the league. I think that always has to be our main goal; to get to 40 points as quickly as possible. We're not there yet and we need to keep working at it and make sure we get another three or four wins under our belt and hopefully we can do that sooner rather than later."
Visitors Stoke have lost their last three in the league and have just one win in their last eight, and midfielder Matty Etherington has this week apologised to the fans for his own performances in recent weeks.
"My form's been indifferent, to be honest, definitely, for one reason or another," said Etherington. "I suppose you get this as a winger. There's been some good games, but I also know myself there's been some bad ones. I want to kick on to the end of the season and I'd like to think I can improve when it matters.
"The gap is slowly getting smaller and it's time to start picking up some points. You can never be complacent about these things, but I know we do have a good enough squad. There are a couple of games coming up that are winnable and we've got to start picking up points."
Andrew Johnson (groin) is a doubt for Fulham, while Steve Sidwell (hernia), Orlando Sa (hamstring) and Zdenek Grygera (knee) are out. Pavel Pogrebnyak is expected to make his debut for the club. Stoke have Mamady Sidibe missing with a long-term knee problem.
Fulham's Clint Dempsey scored both goals in the 2-0 win in this fixture last season, while Dempsey has now scored seven in his last six matches in all competitions for the club. Stoke have managed just one goal in their last four Premier League matches, and have recorded the fewest shots, shots on target and passes out of all of the top-flight clubs this season.
