Date: 1st February Venue: Craven Cottage Kick off: 3:00pm Fulham host Southampton as the Cottagers aim to pick up their fourth win under Rene Meulensteen. Team News Fulham's main injury concerns lie with John Arne Riise (hamstring) and Fernando Amorebieta (knee), who are both doubtful. New signing Lewis Holtby could make his debut, if his paperwork was filed in time, but Greek striker Kostas Mitroglou will definitely not feature after missing the registration deadline. Southampton will be buoyed by the potential return of Rickie Lambert and Victor Wanyama. Lambert had been out with a hamstring problem, while Wanyama had been absent due to a hairline fracture in his leg. Key Stats Southampton have not won a league game at Fulham for over 60 years. Fulham are on a poor run of form, having lost four of their last five matches - conceding 15 goals in the process. The Saints have also struggled recently, winning only 2 of their last 12 league games. Since Meulensteen took charge, Fulham have conceded 26 goals in 10 league games, 2 more than they conceded under Martin Jol in 13 matches. Likely Line-Ups Fulham Stekelenburg; Riether, Burn, Hangeland, Richardson; Sidwell, Parker, Dejagah, Dempsey, Kacaniklic and Bent. Southampton Boruc; Chambers, Fonte, Yoshida, Shaw; Wanyama, Schneiderlin, Rodriguez, Davis, Lallana and Lambert. Match Preview Fulham have enjoyed a mixed start under new manager Meulensteen, with their impressive form in his first five games curtailing off during the last month. Under Jol the Cottagers seemed to be lacking any real desire and passion, which has thankfully returned since the change in management. The visit of Southampton comes at an important time for the London club, who currently sit 19th in the Premier League table and two points from safety. The match will not be an easy task for Meulensteen and his players, especially given Southampton's spirited performance against Arsenal on Tuesday. After a stuttering run of form, the Saints reminded everyone just why they were sitting in the top four during October. Mauricio Pochettino's side put Arsenal to the sword in the first half and were unlucky not to have the three points sewn up by then. As it turned out, the Gunners fought back in the second half and the Saints had to settle for a point, but it is a result that will undoubtedly reinstall confidence amongst the squad. The main concern for Fulham is their leaky defence, which on average is conceding over two goals a game under Meulensteen. Southampton will no doubt look to exploit any weakness at the back and the return of Rickie Lambert should help them do so. Given the Saint's eye-catching showing on Tuesday I expect them to have just too much for Fulham. Prediction: 1-2 source - bbc football
Simon is an NCTJ qualified sports journalist. He has conducted interviews with Tony Adams and Peter Shilton, while also having work published in The Daily Telegraph and The Sun. Follow him on Twitter via @sr_collings.
