Championship returns and Fulham’s hunt for the promotion continues

The English Championship returned from the three month hiatus late June, with nine games left to go for the promotion candidate Fulham, currently sitting on the 5^th place with 67 points. Leeds and West Bromwich Albion have led the way throughout the season and are manning the top two spots with 75 and 74 points, with Brentford and Nottingham following closely at 69 and 67 points respectively. While the top six is already close and competitive, there are surging candidates joining the fight from below.

Cardiff currently holds the 6^th place with 61 points, but there are six teams within six points of that last promotion-playoff place. The fortunes in the three games played after the return have made the contest for the promotion even closer: Brentford has won all three and leapfrogged to the third place, while 7^th placed Derby has done the same and joined the battle within one point of Cardiff, who have gathered seven points in three games after the return. The excellent form of the challengers is bad news for Fulham. Scott Parker’s squad returned to action against tough opponents, first facing Brentford at Craven Cottage and then Leeds at Elland Road.

The return to action did not go as planned for Parker and Fulham: high-flying Brentford took an impressive 0-2 victory in what was very evenly-matched match and Leeds got the better of their chasers 3-0. Fulham then bounced back in their third match to finish June in a positive note, beating QPR on the road 1-2 with goals by Harry Arter and Cyrus Christie, who banged in his first for the club in three seasons. The team and league leading goal-scorer Aleksandar Mitrovic was handed a three-game suspension after elbowing Leeds defender Ben White and will sit out against Birmingham and Nottingham.

Fulham improved greatly for the QPR game, but the issues they’ve had all season were still present. The visitors managed to create a plethora of goal-scoring chances and took possession, but failed to convert. Mistakes at the defensive end cost a goal in the first minute, but this time Fulham was able to turn it around later on. Missing Mitrovic, who has scored 23 goals in the Championship is not making things easier for Fulham, but if the team is willing to keep challenging for the promotion, they have got to find more support in scoring goals.

Fulham will host Birmingham on the 4^th of July at home, before traveling to Nottingham on the 7^th. With six games remaining, it’s crucial to not drop points against the other promotion candidates – not to mention the importance of beating the lower placed clubs, such as Birmingham.