In Focus: Mitro's on fire but will the Premier League be terrified?

Aleksandar Mitrovic is putting together one of the most remarkable seasons in living memory for Fulham.

The Serb has netted 30 Championship goals in just 27 matches and needs just one more strike to break the second tier's scoring record — there are still 17 games left of the season.

The Championship is Mitrovic’s playground but his Premier League record is not quite as impressive.

Fulham’s march towards promotion sees them travel to Hull on Saturday. If they do bounce back at the first time of asking, can Mitrovic finally be the man to fire them to safety?

Your defence is terrified

It looked like Mitrovic was at his peak in the 2019-20 season when he netted 26 goals as Fulham won promotion via the play-offs.

But this term he has taken it to the next level with a stunning 30 Championship strikes — just one off the record held by Ivan Toney and Glenn Murray.

According to Sporting Life, his current expected goals tally is 22.2, meaning he is outperforming that by a whopping 7.8xG already.

After he scored a hat-trick in the 6-2 demolition of Bristol City last month, boss Marco Silva was lost for words.

He said: "The way he scored some goals this afternoon was Mitrovic, nothing more to say."

Top-flight woe

It was not always a given that a return to the Championship was going to bring the best out of Mitrovic at Fulham, though.

As the West Londoners struggled in the top flight, it became clear that all was not well between the Serb and his boss Scott Parker.

Reports out of Craven Cottage suggested the former manager was frustrated with Mitrovic’s inability to lead the press.

He started just 13 of Fulham’s 38 games, scoring three times. But his overall record of 24 goals in 104 Premier League matches, inclusive of his spell at Newcastle, is not bad at all.

No service

It is not like Mitrovic was struggling while other Fulham players thrived in their miserable Premier League campaign either.

They only netted 27 goals over the course of the season, the second-lowest tally ahead of dismal Sheffield United.

If a striker has no service, he can hardly by expected to find the back of the net on a regular basis.

When Mitrovic started this season back among the goals, Silva made sure to point that out.

The Portuguese coach explained: "They are creating the chances for him. For me [his goals] are just a consequence. 

"Of course, if you can have a player in the squad that can score goals and he has this ability, it will be a big help for us."

Top quality

Very rarely do the Premier League’s top scorers come from teams in the bottom half of the table or sides battling relegation.

And that explains why Mitrovic has not caught fire when given the chance at that level.

Former Fulham midfielder Jonathan Greening said: "Aleksandar Mitrovic has the quality to score goals in the Premier League. 

"He can score all kinds of goals and he bangs them in the Championship. He’s absolutely lethal and Fulham are strong favourites to go up.

"Every time he’s been in the Premier League, he hasn’t seemed to hit the same heights — with either Newcastle or Fulham. 

"But, is that because the teams he’s been promoted with aren’t strong enough and aren’t creating the chances? Whereas in the Championship, he’s with stronger teams that are creating chances, which factor in."

Though he must take some of the blame, if Mitrovic finds himself in a Premier League team capable of supplying him with opportunities, expect the goals to flow.

It takes a top-class finisher to outperform their xG in the manner the Cottagers' No9 has, so there is no reason he cannot prove his doubters wrong. Whether he will have the opportunity to do so is another matter.