Fulham V QPR at Craven Cottage - Match Preview




Ruiz and Enoh face fitness tests

Fulham boss Martin Jol will give striker Bryan Ruiz (hamstring) and midfielder Eyong Enoh fitness tests before naming his squad for Monday's London derby against QPR.

Ruiz is struggling with an injury he picked up playing for Costa Rica in midweek.

Meanwhile, midfielder Mahamadou Diarra, who is out of contract at the end of the season, will not play again before then after it was discovered his troublesome left knee will require a third operation.

Jol believes Fulham, on 36 points, require two wins to guarantee survival and expects a fierce scrap with QPR, who lie second bottom and are fighting for their Premier League lives.

Jol said: "This is a home game, a derby game, they are desperate for three points and we can use them as well."

The Fulham boss believes the form of goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer could prove vital and insists he can keep going for at least another two years in the Barclays Premier League.

Schwarzer, 40, has been instrumental in Fulham securing a mid-table berth with eight matches remaining this season and Jol sees no reason why he cannot continue to do a first-rate job at Craven Cottage.

The form of the Australian veteran, who is set to go to Rio de Janeiro for the World Cup with his country next year, is the reason David Stockdale is on loan at npower Championship side Hull and Jol accepts that he might have to let the 27-year-old go permanently.

"David wants to be a number one," said Jol, whose side take on relegation-threatened QPR tomorrow night in a west London derby which has huge significance, in particular, for Harry Redknapp's side.

"I'm always looking for a good goalkeeper. I've got another good goalkeeper who's 23, Neil Etheridge, and he's very talented but he needs to play.

"So maybe we will put him on loan. Stockdale is already on loan; so I have a problem. We need one or two goalkeepers. Hopefully we can get competition for places because that's the ideal."

QPR manager Harry Redknapp has Bobby Zamora fit.

Zamora, the former Fulham striker, used the international break to overcome an ankle injury and a dose of the flu to be in contention for the west London derby.

Redknapp reported a clean bill of health following the international window and he must decide whether to recall the mercurial Moroccan Adel Taarabt to the side.

Redknapp insists the defeat at Aston Villa last time out has not knocked his belief that the club can clamber to survival, and says his side's performance in the 3-2 loss gave him extra confidence.

Redknapp said: "Obviously ourselves and Reading are in a difficult position but there are seven or eight other teams involved in it.

"I still feel we can get out of it and nothing has changed my belief. We played so well at Villa we could have come in at half-time three or four up.

"We've got to go on a little run now and get the results we need.

"If we were in bad form we'd be more worried. We're playing very well, we're in a good form so it gives us a chance.

"At least we're going into the last eight games knowing we're playing well. If we were going into it playing very poorly I'd be more worried. I still think there are four or five wins left in us."

Source: PA

Source: PA