Nigel Clough wants Burton Albion to catch Fulham before they can hit full form

Nigel Clough hopes Burton Albion can catch Fulham before they are up to full speed again this season.

The Brewers came within seconds of securing an impressive victory at Craven Cottage last September, with Jackson Irvine setting them on the way to the win before Ryan Sessegnon's injury-time equaliser.

That was a night when, despite bossing possession, Fulham found it difficult to penetrate a stubborn Albion rearguard.

Clough's side, though, saw the Cottagers' full quality in the return fixture, a performance Clough ranks as one of the best his players have faced in the Championship. Fulham won 2-0 that night.

So with Slavisa Jokanovic's men still to find that level of display, can the Brewers catch them cold this weekend and prevent them dominating play once again?

"That would be nice!" said Clough when asked about the prospect of his side denying Fulham the bulk of the ball.

"But Fulham are so good, and every game that we've watched them, they've dominated possession.

"Sometimes they don't turn it into as many goals as they maybe should - but I think that'll come later in the season for them.

"I remember we got a point down there early on in the season last season, they hadn't quite hit full form then.

"It might be the same this season, we hope.

"But they are a very, very good team."

Another of Clough's hopes for the weekend is to have his squad approaching full fitness again.

Midfield trio Matty Lund, Matt Palmer and Sean Scannell all missed Tuesday's goalless draw with Norwich City due to injury.

John Brayford and Stephen Warnock, meanwhile, have both played the majority - or all, in Brayford's case - of the last 180 minutes against Leeds United and Norwich.

That is despite the pair having featured only three times between them before last weekend - and a decision will be made on their selection on the morning of the Fulham clash.

"They (Lund, Palmer and Scannell) all missed the game through injury," added Clough.

"They have all trained on Friday morning, so we are hoping with no reaction, they will all be available again.

"Stephen didn't finish the game on Tuesday night at Norwich - he really felt it in the last 10 minutes.

"Then John Brayford just about finished it!

"We'll see how they are on the morning of the game.

"We'd like to try to get them out there, but we've also got another five games coming up this month, so we've got to be conscious of that."