Fulham have secured their promotion to the Premier League after Tuesday’s 3-0 win over Preston but have not secured the Championship title just yet.
Bournemouth, currently on 77 points, are the only team able to topple Marco Silva’s squad, who recently lost to Coventry and West Brom to temporarily delay their promotion celebrations.
“It could have been decided last Friday, but sometimes football doesn’t appear like you want or you deserve,” Silva said following Fulham’s victory over Preston.
“I’m proud of the players, not just because we achieved something really important for us. It was our goal, our aim from the first day; direct promotion.”
More on Championship
Championship top six
- Fulham Played 42 – Points 86
- Bournemouth Played 41 – Points 77
- Huddersfield Played 43 – Points 73
- Luton Town Played 43 – Points 71
- Nottingham Forest Played 41 – Points 70
- Sheffield United Played 43 – Points 66
He added: “I know this is the third time the club got promotion in the last five years, but the way we did it, we were really dominant almost all the season.”
For Fulham to win the title they need to win two and draw one of their remaining four fixtures. Essentially, 93 points will guarantee the title, as the maximum tally Bournemouth could reach is 92.
Fulham, though, do have tricky fixtures coming up. Not only do they face Bournemouth away next, but also three more promotion hopefuls.
Fulham’s remaining fixtures
- Bournemouth (away) Saturday 23 April
- Nottingham Forest (home) Tuesday 26 April
- Luton Town (home) Monday 2 May
- Sheffield United (away) Saturday 7 May
The last time Fulham met Bournemouth in December the two sides drew 1-1 despite the former dominating the game with 64 per cent possession and triple the number of shots.
Bournemouth need three more wins to guarantee promotion ahead of Nottingham Forest, who could yet finish on 85 points if they win their last five games.
Bournemouth remaining fixtures
- Fulham (home) Saturday 23 April
- Swansea (away) Tuesday 26 April
- Blackburn Rovers (away) Saturday 30 April
- Nottingham Forest (home) Tuesday 3 May
- Millwall (home) Saturday 7 May
After Bournemouth, Fulham will host Forest, who finished 17th last campaign but currently sit fifth under Steve Cooper.
Forest are best positioned for a play-off spot with two games in hand on third place Huddersfield, who are three points ahead of Cooper’s team.
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