Fulham look to be on their way up to the Premier League this season - and could secure a promotion to the top flight via a victory over Preston North End on Tuesday night.

Ahead of the game - which is no doubt a crunch clash for the Cottagers - Marco Silva has now issued a request to his first-team squad, telling the club's official website that he wants the team to not get caught up in their emotions and 'express themselves' in order to secure the win.

The Cottagers have stormed to the top of the Championship table and with the goals of Aleksandar Mitrovic to help them along the way, they have looked near impossible to stop at times during the campaign.

 

 

Now, an automatic promotion is in sight and the title itself could be next. A win over North End would do it - and Marco Silva doesn't want the nerves to hit home at this crucial part of the season.

The side missed the chance to go up at the weekend, with relegated Derby surprising many with a victory over the league-leaders. It has meant that the wait has gone on to secure passage back into the Premier League, but it might not be too long to wait if they can get one over on North End.

PNE won't be an easy team to beat either though, with the club looking much brighter under Ryan Lowe and able to surge up the table and towards the top half. Marco Silva will want the job done sooner rather than later though and told the club's official website: "It’s up to us to put full focus on the game, forget the emotional part of the game, forget what can happen at the end of the match, just play the football match.

“And we have to express ourselves because if we’ve expressed ourselves so well during the season, it doesn’t make sense in the last few games if we’re nervous or unsure which leads to mistakes that aren’t normal."

The Verdict

Marco Silva has done a superb job with Fulham this season and it's looked like they would be securing a place back in the Premier League for quite some time now.

It's probably more surprising that they haven't been able to confirm their top flight status yet - especially considering the way in which they have won some of their games so far this season. It was Derby who put paid to those hopes at the weekend and it will be North End who are looking to do the same again in midweek.

Fulham though are more than capable of getting the job done and if not now, then at some point between now and the end of the season. They'll most definitely be going up and they may also be doing it as Championship winners in the end.

They've had an exceptional season - and they should make a solid addition to the Premier League too.