Opposition View: Fulham

We spoke to Sammy James of Fulhamish to hear his take on the Cottagers ahead of the Hornets' trip to Craven Cottage in the Emirates FA Cup tomorrow (Thursday January 9, 7.45pm KO).

How would you assess how the season has gone so far?

It's been pretty positive overall. Despite losing João Palhinha in the summer, Marco Silva has managed to make us look arguably even stronger than last season.  

We've been competitive in every game and had some incredible performances, such as beating Chelsea away and picking up points against all the current top five.

However, I think there is also a bit of a feeling that we could actually be having an even more special season if it were not for our propensity to concede late goals.

We've dropped 19 points from winning positions this campaign, often because we haven't been able to kill off a game with a second goal.

What was the target at the start of the campaign – and has it changed now?

I think the aim was probably top half, but many fans are hoping that we might be able to sneak into eighth place and potentially get a spot in the Europa Conference League, which would be a phenomenal achievement and obviously a lot of fun for the supporters.

What do you think of the FA Cup as a competition?

I love it, and were we ever to win it, it would be the ultimate achievement. Obviously, the early rounds seem to have lost their shine compared to the buzz of the Premier League, but I am firmly in the camp that I would happily make the metaphorical trade of our place in the top flight for the chance to lift the FA Cup.

Do you expect a rotated team for the tie?

There will definitely be some rotations, but I expect some first-teamers to play too. We have quite a few injuries, which is limiting our options to fully rotate.

I would expect fan favourite Ryan Sessegnon to get a start and young starlet Josh King to get the nod - but I also think he'll play a few first-teamers such as Saša Lukić and Timothy Castagne as Silva doesn't have much cover in their positions.

What are the fans’ views of Marco Silva?

We absolutely love him. Obviously he arrived at Fulham with plenty of baggage from the way he moved from Watford to Everton, plus the way things unravelled at Goodison Park.

However, at Fulham, he is settled and we are reaping the rewards of his incredible management abilities. He has an incredible ability to get the very best of players, even those that were previously on the scrap heap at other clubs.

Also, his connection with the fans has been brilliant since day one, even if sometimes it goes a bit over the top. He has always shown that he is willing to fight and scrap in order to make Fulham as great as it can be.

What are your memories of matches against Watford?

Not amazing to be perfectly honest. The last match (4-1 at Vicarage Road) we played you was when we were relegated from the Premier League in 2018!

The 5-0 defeat at Craven Cottage in the season you were promoted also stands out as a particularly bleak day to be a Fulham fan. One game that always stands out to me was the 3-3 at Vicarage Road in 2006.

An absolutely mad game where we recovered from 2-0 down to lead 3-2, only to throw away the win in stoppage time. It was a televised game on Sky and although the memory is pretty hazy, I think both teams could not defend to save their lives!

Any players in particular we should watch out for?

If he plays, then Josh King is an exceptionally talented youngster who many are predicting will go to the very top.

He made his first Premier League start just before Christmas against Southampton, and whilst it was an absolutely terrible match of football, Josh stood out as the best player on the park for the first hour or so.

He's a small, but incredibly skillful, number 10 who will be keen to show Marco that he can be trusted with more minutes on the pitch.

What do you think the score will be?

I think it will be tight, but I think we will just edge it. We cannot keep a clean sheet to save our lives at the moment, so I'll go with a narrow 2-1 win.