Matt WilliamsSwansea recorded back-to-back wins last weekend thanks to a 3-1 win over Coventry at home. Michael Obafemi scored a well-worked brace after Jamie Paterson bagged his first since making his return to the squad.
Next up is another home game against the Championship’s best team, Fulham. The Cottagers find themselves comfortably top of the table while their star striker has already set a new goalscoring record.
Their January Transfer Window
After bringing in Paulo Gazzaniga, Harry Wilson, Rodrigo Muniz and Nathaniel Chalobah in the summer, Fulham enjoyed a relatively quiet January transfer window in terms of incomings. Their only signing was Neco Williams; the Welsh international joined on loan from Liverpool. Their loanee Domingos Quina was recalled by parent club Watford after struggling to break into the first team.
As for exits, Fulham loaned out several fringe players including Cyrus Christie, who has been excellent for Swansea since his arrival. They also sold American goalkeeper Damian Las to Austin.
Their Top Scorer
Fulham’s excellent season can be attributed largely to Aleksandar Mitrovic’s remarkable season in front of goal. So far this season, Mitrovic has scored a record-breaking 34 goals, beating Ivan Toney’s record of 31 with a third of the season to play.
The 27-year-old Serbian international started his career at Partizan, winning the Serbian SuperLiga title in 2012-13. After scoring 13 in 28 games, he joined Anderlecht for an estimated €5 million.
Mitrovic scored 16 in 32 games in his debut season, leading Anderlecht to the Belgian Pro League title. He later helped them lift the Belgian Super Cup before winning the golden boot in his second season. He left the Belgian giants after two seasons and an impressive 36 goals in 69 league games.
He joined Newcastle in July 2015 for £13 million. His nine goals were not enough to keep Newcastle in the top flight as they fell to the Championship despite finishing strong under Rafael Benitez.
Despite dropping down a league, Mitrovic struggled for goals in his first Championship campaign. However, his record of four goals in 25 outings were enough for Newcastle to win the league, bouncing back to the Premier League at the first opportunity.
After a difficult start to the 2017-18 season, Mitrovic returned to the Championship in February 2018 to join Fulham on loan. He quickly became a fan favourite, scoring 12 in 17 games as Fulham were promoted via the playoffs.
His clinical finishing earnt him a permanent move to Fulham, signing for the newly-promoted side for an initial £22 million. He missed just one of their 38 league games, scoring 11 times. However, Fulham struggled upon their return and finished 19th.
Mitrovic’s return to the Championship was brief. After scoring 26 in 40, Fulham were promoted via the playoffs once again. They finished fourth, beating Cardiff City in the play-off semi-final before an extra-time win over Brentford at Wembley.
Fulham once again struggled in the Premier League. They were relegated back to the second tier after finishing 18th, with Mitrovic scoring just three times.
However, he has enjoyed an unbelievable 2021-22 season. He leads the golden boot race by a considerable distance with 34 goals; the next highest scorer is Bournemouth’s Dominic Solanke with 20.
Previous Meeting
The two sides last met in September, with the aforementioned Mitrovic stealing the show for The Cottagers. Swansea travelled to Craven Cottage on a run of four games without defeat, although they drew three in that run.
It was Fulham who found the breakthrough after 12 minutes. Following a poor clearance, Tim Ream’s header found Mitrovic in the box. The Serbian striker cleverly turned Kyle Naughton before drilling his shot beyond Ben Hamer, although the goal should have been disallowed as Mitrovic was offside.
Mitrovic made it 2-0 20 minutes later, rounding off a well-worked counterattack for the home side.
Swansea pulled one back in the 38th minute through Jamie Paterson. He received a through ball from Joel Piroe before cutting onto his right foot, leaving Denis Odoi and Paulo Gazzaniga helpless as he curled home.
However, Mitrovic completed his hattrick just before half-time, once again completing a deadly counter-attack with an excellent half-volley.
Swansea were much improved in the second half but were unable to find a breakthrough, giving Fulham all three points.
Final score – Fulham 3-1 Swansea City
Match Preview
After back-to-back wins, Swansea face the toughest home test of the season on Tuesday night. Fulham come into the game on a run of three successive wins, beating Blackburn in the early Saturday kick-off. Their only league defeat of 2022 came against Huddersfield last month. Since the turn of the year, Fulham have won nine, drawn one (home to Blackpool and lost one.
Swansea will be without the ineligible Cyrus Christie as they face his parent club. Nathanael Ogbeta is also likely to miss out, while Hannes Wolf continues his recovery after a positive covid test last weekend. In their absence, Russell Martin will likely turn to Korey Smith and Joel Latibeaudiere.
Meanwhile, Michael Obafemi will no doubt be looking to continue his goalscoring form. He has four goals in his last three home games.
Expect a difficult game against an in-form Fulham side. The absence of Christie will be sorely felt, although Andy Fisher’s excellent display on Saturday should give Swansea some hope as they meet Mitrovic once again.
After Tuesday’s outing, Swansea face back-to-back away games at newly-promoted sides. They travel to Blackpool on Saturday before an away visit to struggling Peterborough the following Wednesday.
