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Expected information about the match

England Championship 28.Round

17.1 19:45

Stadium: Craven Cottage

Capacity: 25700

Turf: Grass

Distance: 410 km (254.73 mi.)

Fulham FC

Aleksandar Mitrovic will miss and it can be big blow for team

Aleksandar Mitrovic - Attack (CF) - Key player

41

40

1

3591

26

4

9

0

Jordan Archer is new signing and should play

Jordan Archer - (GK) - Rotation player

0

1

0

"It’s not ideal when your leading goalscorer gets injured. He’s tweaked his ankle ligaments. When you start seeing your key players being injured, it’s not nice, but that’s what you have a squad for. "When it initially happened, we were nervous and he left the stadium in a boot, but since then, he’s had a scan and we’re hoping he’ll be alright in the next two or three weeks. Mitro’s a player who has had very few injuries and he’s quite robust. - said head coach about the condition of Mitrovic

Aleksandar Mitrovic will miss Fulham's game with Middlesbrough on Friday as the Whites look for a win that will take them third in the Championship. The Serbia striker injured his ankle in Saturday's win at Hull and is likely to be out for two or three weeks.

The west London club have won two of their past three games and are fourth in the table, seven points behind second-placed Leeds United.

Fulham are winless in their last two home league games against Middlesbrough (D1 L1) since winning 4-3 in April 2015.

Fulham have not lost consecutive home Championship games since October 2016.

Since his debut in February 2018, Fulham's injured striker Aleksandar Mitrovic has scored 35% of the club's goals in all competitions (41 of 116).

Defender Steven Sessegnon remains doubtful with a groin problem he picked up at the end of last month, while midfielder Harrison Reed (calf) will also be assessed.

Manager Scott Parker has added goalkeeper Jordan Archer to his roster, with the Scotland international likely to be pushing for a place on the bench as cover for Marek Rodak.

Fulham have won two of their three games in 2020. They were beaten at home by Reading on New Year's Day in the Championship, but bounced back to beat Aston Villa at Craven Cottage in the FA Cup, then won at Hull last Saturday.

Scott Parker: "They grew into the game and gave themselves a fighting chance against a very good side in Spurs. "They're coming off a very good run, I think they're unbeaten in four or five in the division. Middlesbrough have some athletes in their team, so we'll need to be aware of that. It'll be another tough game for us."

Middlesbrough

Darren Randolph left club

Darren Randolph - Goalkeeper (GK) - Regular player

14

0

1260

0

1

0

Marcus Browne is loaned out

Marcus Browne - Midfielder (AM) - Rotation player

13

5

11

5

8

447

0

1

0

Marc Bola is loaned out

Marc Bola - Defense (LB) - Rotation player

7

6

14

3

1

520

0

1

0

Team played an important cup game in midweek

Middlesbrough, beaten in the FA Cup by Tottenham on Tuesday, are still without striker Britt Assombalonga and centre-back Daniel Ayala (both ankle). Defenders Ryan Shotton, George Friend and Anfernee Dijksteel are also out.

Middlesbrough have won none of their last four matches against Fulham in all competitions (D2 L2) since a 2-0 victory in the Championship back in February 2016.

Middlesbrough striker Ashley Fletcher has scored in each of his last two away league games - he had scored only once in his previous 10 away games this season.

Since losing 4-0 at Leeds United in November, Middlesbrough have taken more points than any other Championship side (W5 D2 L1 - 17 points).

Boro boss Jonathan Woodgate goes into the game without a number of key players through injury. Woodgate confirmed this week that striker Britt Assombalonga suffered a setback in training in his bid to return from an ankle issue that has kept him out since early December. Woodgate has also revealed defender Daniel Ayala will miss another four weeks with an ankle problem sustained in the New Year's Day win at Preston. Boro are also without three other defenders in Ryan Shotton, Anfernee Dijksteel (both knee) and George Friend (ankle).

Middlesbrough won at Preston on New Year's Day, then drew at home to Derby last Saturday. Either side of their Championship clash against the Rams they held Tottenham to a 1-1 draw in their FA Cup third-round tie, before losing the replay at the Premier League ground 2-1 on Tuesday night.

Jonathan Woodgate: "It was imperative we started winning games and we did that. It takes time. We weren't far away from getting results, and there were times when we didn't get what we deserved. "Training hasn't changed at all. Our intensity hasn't changed. Nor has our belief in how we want to do things or how we want to play the game. But we've still got to improve and we can't get complacent. Because if you do you know what happens, and hopefully that won't happen with my team."