Curtis Davies gets candid about the epic clash against promotion rivals Fulham

Curtis Davies gets candid about the epic clash against promotion rivals Fulham

The weekend’s big promotion clash takes place at Pride Park where fourth place Derby host Fulham, who are a point behind and a place below them in the table.

Curtis Davies let slip that the Rams’ dismal form is damaging their confidence. He told the Derby Telegraph, “I’m hoping they come to our place and underestimate us and think that we’re in a bad rut, so they can just take it easy. Then maybe we can surprise them.”

With one win in seven, the automatic promotion places are slipping out of Derby’s grasp and winning is becoming a difficult habit to pick up at home as well. Despite this, Aston Villa came a cropper at Pride Park in mid-December; Derby have the big win within them.

Curtis Davies in action

That said, the players are certainly not underestimating the size of the task ahead of them. “This will be the biggest test we’ve had in a long while, based on our poor form and Fulham being the form team in the division,” according to Davies.

“They’re very much in form, they’re always a difficult team to play, because they are a very good footballing team and very fluid in the way they play,” he concluded.

Fulham will come into the game six unbeaten on their travels, with wins against promotion rivals Cardiff City and Middlesbrough under their belt. Add in last weekend’s win over Wolves, and confidence will be high in the Londoners.

That doesn’t perturb Davies. The Championship, he claimed, “is the weirdest league in the world.” With clubs taking points off each other at every turn, he might be right, although being bold enough to predict a home win is another matter.

Fulham are hitting form at the right time and are firmly ensconced in the play-off places; defeat for either side will allow those below them to close the gap. The question is whether or not Derby believe they can win.