Fulham boss Scott Parker and QPR counterpart Mark Warburton go head to head on Friday night with both men believing a positive result could kick-start their push for promotion.

The Cottagers lie seven points behind Sky Bet Championship table-toppers West Brom in seventh, with visiting Rangers two points further back in 10th.

But such is the congested nature of the table, with just nine points separating the top 10, clubs' fortunes can rise and fall dramatically within a matter of days.

"It's a league where if you win two or three games, you're right up there," said Parker.

"We've seen over the course of many seasons that this division is very different to the Premier League. In the Premier League, a six or seven-point gap and the league is done and dusted.

"The last time we got promoted, we were struggling by Christmas but then we went on a little bit of a run. If we get a run going, we'll be around it. We've shown flashes of brilliance and performances that have been everything I've wanted."

Warburton echoed those thoughts but knows things need to improve after a sequence of two draws and two defeats before the international window.

"The league is so tough, there is no-one breaking away," he told www.qpr.co.uk.

"We have taken two points from our last 12 and are right in it. Any team that can win four out of six, or three out of five with a draw, is going to be in good shape.

"I think we are capable of more – we have shown we are capable of more. But we are a team and we win and lose together. There is no doubting the quality in the dressing room."

Warburton welcomed Nahki Wells, Jan Mlakar, Ebere Eze and Matt Smith back to training in midweek after they spent time away with their respective countries, but may treat them with kid gloves.

"Some of the boys have been away on international duty and you run the risk of injury and fatigue," he said.

"They are all back now, safe and sound thankfully, but you always have that fear as a manager."

Both sides have a suspension to deal with, with the Cottagers' Aleksandar Mitrovic and QPR's Geoff Cameron missing out.