English Premier
2011-08-21 - Wolves vs Fulham
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football : English Premier League
Sunday 21 August 2011 - Kickoff 2pm
Wolves
After surviving by the skin of their teeth last season, Wolves manager Mick McCarthy has admitted his side need to push on and look for better things than mere survival. A win at Blackburn on the opening day of the season will give the fans plenty of reasons to be optimistic that they will establish themselves as a genuine Premier League side this season.
Much of the Wolves success comes from a strong record at Molineaux, and it will be there that they base their future security in this League. Last season it was the bigger teams that struggled to get results when they came to this part of the World, with Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City all losing here as Wolves recorded a 8-4-7 record.
Regardless of their good record at home, Wolves struggled towards the end of the season and won just 1 of their last 5 games there. It was only thanks to a Stephen Hunt goal in the 87th minute in their final home game against Blackburn Rovers that the team survived as they lost 2-3.
It is likely that the same side that beat Blackburn last week will be back in action in this game. That means Roger Johnson will make his home debut while Michael Kightly could make his return from injury on the bench.
Fulham
Martin Jol has already had plenty of time to see his new team in action thanks to their early participation in the Europa League and the Dutchman must be happy with the resources he has to his disposal. It was only thanks to a couple of top quality saves from Shay Given that Fulham did not open their Premier League campaign with a win last week.
The achilles heel for Fulham in pushing up the table over the last couple of seasons is their record away from Craven Cottage, although their home has become something of a fortress. Fulham finished with a 3-9-7 away record last season, scoring 19 goals and conceding 20. The team are clearly hard to beat on their travels, and held the joint best away defence in the League along with Chelsea.
The away record was actually bolstered by back to back wins in their final two games at Sunderland and Birmingham. Fulham actually only lost 1 of their 19 away games by more than 1 goal, that at Old Trafford, and earned points at the likes of Manchester City and Aston Villa.
Dickson Etuhu, John Arne Riise, Philippe Senderos and Andrew Johnson are all likely to be recalled from the Europa League game. Simon Davies is still out but Danny Murphy should play despite a groin strain.
Head to Head
Wolves and Fulham drew here 1-1 last season thanks to an Andrew Johnson equaliser in the last 10 minutes.
Wolves had won their previous 2 home games against Fulham.
Prediction
At the time of writing only 2/15 matches in the Premier League had finished with home wins, while Chelsea were 0-1 down at half time in their game with West Brom.
I think Wolves could reverse the recent trend and pick up their 2nd win of the season and move top of the table, for a brief time at least, by beating Fulham for the 3rd time in 4 games at home.
Roger Johnson looks like being a very good signing and will help strengthen their defence, while there looks to be goals in the side thanks to the likes of Steven Fletcher, Kevin Doyle, Jamie O'Hara and Stephen Hunt.
Fulham have played a lot of football at the beginning of this season, and travelling away from Craven Cottage has been tough for them in their time as a Premier League side. They work hard and have proven tough to beat, but I think the home team are worth chancing at the prices on offer.
It will be close and I imagine very tight, but I think the home time may just sneak the 3 points.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Wolves 1-0 Fulham
FIXED ODDS BETTING TIP :
I'll back Wolves @ 2.45
