Fulham endured a dismal start to life in the Championship, with no wins and seven losses in their opening eight matches; conceding 19 goals in the process.

But after the sacking of former manager Felix Magath and the installation of Kit Symons as his successor, The Cottagers have started to climb up the table, sitting in 16th with 19 games played.

Fulham recorded their first away win since September 27 in their last outing - a 2-1 victory over Brighton and Hove Albion at the AmEx Stadium.

Despite going behind courtesy of former Fulham striker Darren Bent’s goal, strikes from Hugo Rodallega and Lasse Vigen Christensen ensured the club would be returning to London with the three points.

Back at Craven Cottage results have been a lot more consistent under Symons; the side have lost just one home game with him in charge – his first match as caretaker manager against Blackburn Rovers.

Since then, Fulham have recorded four wins and a draw in their five home games, as well as keeping three clean sheets in the process. In both home and away fixtures The Cottagers have lost just once in their last eight games - a 2-1 defeat to rivals Brentford at Griffin Park.

Leading the club’s scoring charts is Hugo Rodallega, who has managed eight goals for Fulham so far this season - all of which have come in the Championship.

Trailing the Colombian is record signing Ross McCormack, who has five goals to his name (four in the league, one in the League Cup) since joining from Leeds United for a fee which could eventually rise to £11m.

Fulham find themselves out of the Capital One Cup after a 5-2 loss to Derby County, but did manage to eliminate Doncaster Rovers, the side who knocked out Watford, in the process. In addition to these results, the club secured a 1-0 victory against Brentford in the second round; the only win ex-boss Magath was able to record in the 2014/15 campaign.

The Cottagers have not lost to Watford since 1998, recording three wins and three draws in the process. Friday’s match will mark the first time the two clubs have met since 2007, when the two played out a 0-0 draw on New Year’s Day in the Premier League.

In team news, Symons will be able to call upon defender Sean Kavanagh after he recovered from an injury sustained against Derby County in October. The Whites will be without defenders Fernando Amorebieta (knee) and Tim Hoogland (pelvis), both of whom are out with longer term injuries.

Fulham Starting XI vs Brighton and Hove Albion (29/11/14): Bettinelli; Grimmer, Bodurov, Hutchinson, Stafylidis; Parker, Christensen, Hyndman, Ruiz; Rodallega, McCormack.