Faltering Fulham welcome Everton to Craven Cottage in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon in an important encounter for the home side's hopes of finishing in the top eight.

Marco Silva comes up against his former club desperately needing a win to keep the Cottagers' fading European hopes alive, while Everton's season is fizzling out after ensuring their top-flight survival.

Match preview

Form has evaded Fulham at the worst possible time, as a return to European football for the first time in 13 years is slipping out of their grasp.

A 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa last weekend was a third defeat in four games, and the six losses they have suffered across their previous 10 matches in the Premier League is the same number they fell to in the opening 25 games of the campaign.

Youri Tielemans's straightforward header from a set piece was the all-important moment at Villa Park, on an afternoon where Fulham offered limited threat, so they will need to respond here on home soil.

The Cottagers' recent struggles are illustrated by the fact they find themselves in the bottom half now, but eighth place is still only two points away, so a win paired with dropped points from Bournemouth, Brighton and Brentford this weekend could put Silva's side back in the driving seat.

Fulham's recent record against Everton gives hope, because they are unbeaten in seven games against the Toffees, but the last three have all ended in draws, after Beto's injury-time leveller in the reverse fixture at Goodison Park.

Draws are rare for Fulham, who have not ended a match level in any of their last 15 games, whereas seven of Everton's last 12 matches have seen the spoils shared.

While form at home versus Fulham has fallen off a cliff in recent years, Everton have actually improved at Craven Cottage, because after losing on each of their first seven Premier League visits here, they have since only suffered defeat twice in their last 10.

With nothing left but pride to play for though, Everton could be accused of having their feet up already, and fumbling a 2-0 lead at home to already-relegated Ipswich Town last weekend proves that.

Everton have become the first team in over a decade in the Premier League to lead by two or more goals on four separate occasions, but fail to win, as Ipswich joined Bournemouth, Villa and Manchester United in completing unlikely comebacks against them.

While there is now just one game remaining at Goodison Park, it has not been a fortress by any means in recent months, with Everton failing to win any of their last six matches at home - their longest run at the venue since 2009.

Being away from home could provide the chance to play with less pressure, as they enjoyed in their 1-0 win away to Nottingham Forest last month, and remarkably, given their struggles on the road in recent years, Everton have actually averaged more points away (1.57) than they have at home (1.38) since David Moyes took charge.

The visitors are not great in London though, as defeat to Chelsea two weeks ago means they have won just one of their last 10 games in the capital, scoring a mere five goals in the process.

Team News

Andreas Pereira could be back in the Fulham squad after he missed the trip to Villa Park with a knock last weekend, while Harrison Reed is less likely to be involved due to a calf strain.

Timothy Castagne and Reiss Nelson will not feature again this season, while Rodrigo Muniz is also a huge doubt to feature before the final day, as the Brazilian is currently recovering from an Achilles injury.

There should be two ex-Everton players in the Fulham side, as well as an ex-manager in the dugout, as Alex Iwobi and left-back Antonee Robinson will be central to any success the hosts can expect to enjoy in this clash.

For the visitors, Moyes could be tempted to give Dominic Calvert-Lewin his first Everton start since January, but he made little impact when replacing Beto, who scored the opener, a week ago against Ipswich.

Making his first start in four months, Dwight McNeil racked up his 100th appearance for Everton in that 2-2 draw, marking the occasion with a goal, which was his first since suffering that serious knee injury back in December.

On the injury list, Abdoulaye Doucoure missed the clash with the Tractor Boys due to a personal issue, so should return, but James Tarkowski, Jesper Lindstrom and Orel Mangala will not feature again this season.

Fulham possible starting lineup:

Leno; Tete, Andersen, Bassey, Robinson; Lukic, Berge; Smith Rowe, Andreas Pereira, Iwobi; Jimenez

Everton possible starting lineup:

Pickford; Young, O'Brien, Branthwaite, Mykolenko; McNeil, Gueye, Garner, Doucoure, Ndiaye; Beto