Scott Parker couldn’t hide the fact that Fulham’s welcoming of West Brom to Craven Cottage on Monday evening has a little bit more riding on it than most other matches that each side will contest this season. While Championship champions Leeds United have hit the ground running in the Premier League, Albion and Fulham are where most bookies, pundits and neutrals might’ve expected them to be after the first half a dozen matches – in and around the relegation zone. Parker, who identified summer signings Grady Diangana and Karlan Grant as two players who have caught his eye, expects both sides to be in the lower reaches of the division come the end of the season – it’ll be whether either or both sides have enough to survive the drop and an immediate return to the second tier.
Scott Parker said “I think both teams are similar to where they were, West Brom have spent a bit of money on a couple of front half players. One of them was there last year and we all saw his quality, a fantastic player in Diangana. The boy Grant, too. They’ve added some experience along the way. They’re definitely an improved team, too. I think it’s got the makings of a very good game. While we’ve improved as well, I do sense that this game could be a very tight, but a very good one. The competition, where we both are in the league. I think Slaven will be the same in terms of where he sees his team this year, and where he’s going to be in and about it is probably where we are. So this is a really big game for both of us, because you want to take points off of each other really. Every game is going to be massive this year, but this game has something a little bit extra.”
