Before last season, where Fulham did the double over us, Fulham had lost their last SIX games against Newcastle United.
Eddie Howe has been discussing this, the challenge of following a big Champions League win with a victory in the Premier League and Jacob Ramsey’s return from injury.
The boss feels games like today is a “big mental challenge” to go again a few days on from that 3-0 win over Benfica and overcome a Marco Silva side that got the better of us in both meetings last season.
“You go back to last year and it was two disappointing results (against Fulham),” admitted Howe. “We know the quality of their team. Marco [Silva] has done a brilliant job there. These are difficult games for us.
“We’ve felt that returning from the Champions League. You’ve always got the high emotion of a Champions League game, the energy those games bring you. Then you’re back to the afternoon kick-off in the Premier League.
“It’s a big mental challenge for us. We have to rise to that and grow from the experiences we’ve had previously, but this will be a tough game.”
Ramsey started on Tuesday, coming back into Howe’s XI for the first time since our 0-0 draw at Leeds in August, and Howe is backing the “outstanding” midfielder to find his best form soon:
“I’m really pleased with JJ [Ramsey] because coming to a new club, the last thing you want to do is pick up an injury early on,” said Howe. “You want to show qualities and what you can bring to the team.
“He had a period away, worked hard, and has come back now to full fitness. I’ve been impressed. I still feel there’s so much more to come, both physically and technically because I think he’s got outstanding technical qualities.
“He’s a very intelligent player, so I think the best is yet to come. But it’s certainly been a positive impression.”
The question is whether the former Aston Villa talent will keep his place today, with Joelinton hoping to come back into the side and Sandro Tonali in contention IF he recovers from a bug that kept him on the bench in midweek.
