Fulham have currently had a strong start to the league season, sat seventh in the league table after 11 games on 19 points and having lost only two league games all campaign.

Fulham go into the international break on the back of a 2-2 draw with Charlton Athletic after two consecutive wins over Reading and Wigan Athletic, however there are some underlying issues bubbling underneath the surface for Scott Parker, who is in his first full season as Fulham manager, the club who he made 128 appearances for as a player before retiring in 2017.

Here, we take a look at three issues that Parker has to work on over the international break...

Discipline

Fulham's discipline so far this season hasn't been great, picking up 19 yellow cards and one red card in just the 12 competitive appearances so far this season.

Fulham have a few hot headed players on the pitch who put their heart on their sleeve, namely players such as Harry Arter and Aleksandar Mitrovic who will put everything on the line to help get a result for their club.

If Parker can ensure his team calms down and doesn't go over the top when attempting to regain possession, then the more often that certain players aren't walking on tightropes Parker and his side has more chance of winning the game.

Turning possession into goals

The average amount of possession that Fulham have had so far in a Championship game this season is 63.7%.

This statistic won't specifically worry Parker, but he knows his side needs to convert that possession into more chance and possibly more goals, having only netted the 20 so far this season in the league for a side that harbours ambitions of making it back up to the top flight.

With players like Mitrovic hanging around the box and able to go in behind as well as getting on the end of crosses into the box, Fulham need to use the amounts of possession they have to found the front men.

Be stronger aerially

So far, Fulham's style of play doesn't mean that the side has to be good in the air when they adopt more of a possession-based approach.

However, when teams visit Craven Cottage, Fulham often find themselves weaker in the air when at the back as the likes of Alfie Mawson and Denis Odoi fail to put their body on the line and head the ball, instead preferring to hold the player off when he brings the ball into his chest or flicks the ball onto nobody.

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