Football : English : Premier League
Saturday 24th August - Kickoff 12:45pm
Fulham
Fulham are known for being bad travellers over the years but that wasn't the case on Saturday when they went to Sunderland and won 0-1. The shock away win leaves Fulham in 6th and now they face the unpredictable Arsenal in a London Derby.Jol has signed Riether and Parker along with 2 loanees who could make a big impact in Bent and Taarabt. Reither and Taarabt started at the weekend both having average games but Bent and Parker missed out but should be in contention this weekend.
The win at Sunderland was a little fortuitous as Sunderland had 58% possession as well as dominating the shot count 21-5! Still the only stat that matters is the score and Fulham will surely be buoyed by that win ahead of this game.
Arsenal
It has been a strange week for Wenger's Arsenal. They took the lead v Villa inside 10 minutes only to lose 1-3 but then midweek at Fenerbahçe they looked a different team, thumping the Turks 0-3.Ahead of this game at Fulham on a short rest period Arsenal will be without Koscielny, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Arteta, Vermaelen and Diaby. With a lack of centre back options we could see Sagna partnering Mertesacker in the middle which is a worry.
Arsenal's form is good on the road having won their last 5 away league games. Although not known for their defence, Arsenal have had 5 clean sheets in the last 7 away league games as well as 3 straight under 2.5 games. Despite the encouraging stats it's hard to envisage an unders game given their current defensive crisis at the club.
Betting Verdict
I'm going to keep faith with Arsenal on Saturday and back them via the asian 1/4 ball line to beat Fulham. The hosts flattered in their win on Saturday and this weekend's game will be a tougher ask.Arsenal responded very well to their Villa defeat and if it wasn't for the midweek trip to Istanbul I would back them in the fixed market.
Fulham have lost their last 4 home league games and players like Bent, Berbabtov and Taarabt despite their quality going forward can be passengers defensively. We know Arsenal will have lots of the ball and if someone playing deep like Wilshere gets to run the game Fulham will be in big trouble.
The Gunners like visiting Craven Cottage winning 3 of the last 6 league games here. With 1 loss in the last 4 visits I'm going back Arsenal -1/4 ball as I don't expect the hosts to leave with the 3 points on Saturday.
Good Luck
The Statistics :
No comments:
Post a Comment