The Championship promotion race continues on Friday night as Fulham host Sunderland at Craven Cottage.
The Whites are currently one point behind Cardiff with two games to go and it is crunch time for both teams gunning for an automatic spot in the Premier League alongside already-promoted Wolves.
Fulham are currently on a club record 22-game unbeaten run after beating Millwall 3-0 in their previous game, while the Black Cats were relegated over the weekend with a 2-1 loss at home to Burton Albion after two late goals.
| Game | Fulham vs Sunderland |
| Date | Friday, April 27 |
| Time | 19:45 BST / 14:45 ET |
TV Channel, Live Stream & How to Watch
In the United States (US), the game can be watched on ESPN+.
| US TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| ESPN+ | n/a |
In the United Kingdom (UK), the game can be watched live on TV on Sky Sports Football and it can be streamed live online using Sky Go.
| UK TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| Sky Sports Football | Sky Go |
Squads & Team News
| Position | Fulham players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Bettinelli, Button |
| Defenders | Odoi, Fredericks, Kalas, Ream, Targett, Djalo. S.Sessegnon, Christie |
| Midfielders | Cairney, Johansen, McDonald, Norwood, Cisse, |
| Forwards | Ayite, Mitrovic, Fonte, Kamara, Sessegnon, Kebano, Ojo, Piazon |
Fulham almost have a fully fit squad heading into this game. Floyd Ayite remains unavailable for selection due to injury.
Dennis Odoi has been preferred at centre-back since Tomas Kalas' injury earlier in the season
Predicted Fulham starting XI: Bettinelli, Fredericks, Odoi, Ream, Targett, McDonald, Cairney, Johansen, Piazon, Sessegnon, Mitrovic
| Position | Sunderland players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Steele, Camp, Ruiter |
| Defenders | Oviedo, Kone, O'Shea, Browning, Galloway, Matthews, Love, Wilson, Clarke-Salter |
| Midfielders | Mcnair, Cattermole, Rodwell, McGeady, McManaman, Honeyman, Gooch, Mumba, Molyneux, Embleton, Lua Lua, Williams, Robson |
| Forwards | Maja, Asoro, Watmore, Fletcher, |
Chris Coleman has announced that he's calling up three youngsters to the squad for the game against Fulham.
Sunderland are expected to rotate heavily after their relegation to League One was confirmed last week.
Aiden McGeady and Bryan Oviedo will be unavailable due to injury. Billy Jones will undergo a late fitness test but he is a doubt.
Predicted starting XI: Steele, Jones, O'shea, Kone, Wilson, Cattermole, McManaman, McNair, Lua Lua Honeyman, Fletcher
Betting & Match Odds
Unsurprisingly, Fulham are heavy favourites to win this match with odds of 1/5 that the Whites will win on Friday night. Sunderland are a long shot at 10/1 with dabblebet
Match Preview
The last time the two sides met, Sunderland won their first league game for almost a year at the Stadium of Light.
However, since that 1-0 victory Fulham have morphed into a completely different beast having not lost since that Championship match on December 16.
"We didn't find our best performance against Sunderland last time," Fulham manager Slavisa Jokanovic said. "After the game, we began to perform better. Now, we have a small chance to finish second."
Fulham's EFL Player of the Year, Ryan Sessegnon, and on-loan striker Aleksandar Mitrovic are both in fantastic form coming up against the second-worst defence in the second tier of English football.
Sunderland will be playing without any hope or any pressure; manager Chris Coleman has said he will play the strongest team possible, even though he has called up youngsters saying.
"We’ve still got to go with a team that has the best chance of doing something tomorrow night, and we have to protect the young players as well because if you put them in too early it can be detrimental," he said.
Cardiff City host Hull City on Saturday and a win for the London team would pile pressure on Neil Warnock's side, because defeat or a draw would see them trailing their promotion rivals heading into the final regular season matchday of 2017-18.
Whichever team fails to get automatic promotion will at least get a chance to reach the Premier League via the play-offs, joined by Aston Villa and two of either Middlesbrough, Derby County, Millwall, Brentford, Preston, Bristol City and Sheffield United.
