English Premier
2011-10-23 - Fulham vs Everton
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football : English Premier League
Sunday 23 October 2011 - Kickoff 1:30pm
Fulham
Fulham have always been a little bit night and day when they are playing at home and away, and this season has been no different although Martin Jol will be hoping the team can start recording wins at home and moving up the table.
The Cottagers are down in 14th place in the Premier League having picked up 7 points from their opening 8 games of the season, with the vast majority of those coming from Craven Cottage. Fulham remain unbeaten at home where they are 1-3-0, scoring 9 goals and conceding 3.
They have lost back to back games in all competitions without scoring, both away from home, since winning their first League game of the season in a 6-0 win over QPR at home. Fulham had drawn their last 3 home games in all competitions before that win, and had not kept a clean sheet in any of those games.
Danny Murphy will need to pass a late fitness test to determine his availability for this game, while Bobby Zamora and Clint Dempsey should both be restored after being rested in the Europa League game on Thursday.
Everton
David Moyes has seen his side struggle to really get going in the early part of the new season and it looks like it will be a tough season as he just does not have the squad depth to freshen things up when the game is not going the way it is expected.
Everton sit one place below Fulham in the League table due to an inferior goal difference, but they do have 1 game in hand over the majority of the other teams. They have a 1-0-2 record away from home this season, scoring 2 goals and conceding 5 in those games.
The team have conceded at least 2 goals in each of their last 3 League games, all defeats as a positive run of form has come crashing to an end. They have lost back to back away games in the League following a very fortunate win at Blackburn earlier this season.
James McFadden has resigned with the club but he will not be involved this week as he looks to build up his fitness. Victor Anichebe is out, but Louis Saha should start against one of his former clubs.
Head to Head
Fulham have a very strong home record against Everton in recent seasons, going 8-1-1 at Craven Cottage in Premier League games.
However, Everton will point to the fact they have lost just 1 of their last 3 visits to this part of West London, and have kept 2 clean sheets in those visits.
Prediction
This is a very important game for both teams who need the 3 points for their own reasons, and I think it is one from which Fulham will be confident they can sneak the win.
Fulham are a very tough team to play at Craven Cottage and Everton have not had the best of times here so you would have to expect the home team will be able to do enough to grab the win.
They have players like Dempsey, Zamora and Murphy (if he plays) who have plenty of creativity and should cause Everton plenty of problems.
I don't like underestimating David Moyes' men as he seems to get the best out of them at all times, I just feel they will not be able to repel the Fulham attacks and don't have enough goals in the team at this moment to cause enough problems.
Everton lost in West London last weekend, and I will have a small interest in it happening again on Sunday albeit in a slightly different part of town.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Fulham 2-1 Everton
