Fulham are widely expected to make the swiftest of returns back to the Premier League after a recruiting well during the summer.

However, they were also widely expected to maintain their Premier League status last season after ‘recruiting well’ during the summer.

With this expectation comes a great pressure that Fulham know all too well about. So, in their opening two league fixtures, do Fulham look set for an immediate return, and what have we learnt so far?

We look...

Wake up call out of the way

Newly promoted Barnsley let everyone’s acca down on the opening day of the season, beating Fulham 1-0 at Oakwell. Season after season, though, we see newly relegated teams take one or two matches to adjust to the Championship before going on to blitz the league as Newcastle United once did.

If anything, Scott Parker and Fulham learnt everything they needed to in this first game. Perhaps it will serve as a blessing in disguise and act as a harsh reminder that the side will have to be at their absolute best to do what many expect them to and earn a top-two finish.

It may have been the wake-up call the team needed as they went on to comfortably beat Blackburn Rovers 2-0 at Craven Cottage in the next match.

Captain Cairney looking class

Fulham’s captain Tom Cairney was one of their standout players in their 2017/18 promotion-winning season two years ago. In the Premier League, though, he struggled to have the same impact in the side with some injuries playing their part. Last season he made 42 appearances in the top-flight, scoring twice and getting just one assist.

He has already halved his goalscoring tally from last season with a spectacular long-range goal to open the scoring against Blackburn. Cairney is a top-class Championship player and the step down may help him reinstate himself as a goalscoring midfielder.

From Fulham’s latest victory, it is safe to say that we’ve learnt that their captain will play a much bigger role in their season and be an influential figure in their promotion push.

Mitrovic looking good

It took just two games for the Serbian to get underway in this Championship season. It was a goal typical of Aleksandar Mitrovic: a strong, clever and powerful run into the penalty area ending with a cool finish.

With the crossing ability of Joe Bryan, you can’t help but feel as though Fulham will be scoring a lot more goals created by the full-back and finished by Mitrovic as was the case last Saturday. The creative options of Bryan, Cairney, Stefan Johansen and Bobby Reid that surrounds Fulham’s number nine is quite extraordinary.