English Premier
2011-12-17 - Fulham vs Bolton Wanderers
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Saturday 17 December 2011 - Kick Off 3pm
Fulham
The big rumour last weekend was that Bobby Zamora and Martin Jol have had a falling out at Craven Cottage and the England International striker will be moving on in January. This will not please the fans who have seen Fulham make a tough start to the new season, the first under the guidance of Jol, and this could be a huge game for their season to get going.
Fulham are 14th in the table following a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Swansea, and that leaves them only 3 points better off than Wigan in the final relegation spot. Their form at Craven Cottage has been the foundation of their success in the last couple of seasons, but they are only 2-3-2 there this year, scoring 12 goals and conceding 9.
It was a bad result at home that cost Fulham their Europa League place on Wednesday night as they blew a 2 goal lead to draw with Odense and lose out to Wislaw Krakow. The team have been struggling for results and have only won 1 of their last 7 games in all competitions and goals have become a slight issue for them. Fulham have only scored 3 goals in the 3 League games at home since beating Fulham 6-0.
Mark Schwarzer has been ruled out for up to 6 weeks so it will be David Stockdale who takes over between the sticks. Steve Sidwell is hoping to return to the squad this week, while Danny Murphy is a doubt since coming off against Liverpool a couple of weeks ago. Andy Johnson is back from his European suspension and Bryan Ruiz is back after missing the game on Wednesday as he was cup-tied.
Bolton Wanderers
It might be Winter in the UK, but Owen Coyle's seat as manager of Bolton Wanderers is getting warmer and warmer as each match goes by. Bolton were beaten 1-2 at Aston Villa last weekend and are in real danger of being cut off from the rest of the League as Wigan and Sunderland both earned wins.
This is a huge week for Bolton as they travel to Fulham and then to Blackburn Rovers, but they find themselves bottom of the Premier League having earned just 9 points from their 15 League games. They are currently 5 points behind Wolves in 17th spot, but they have been better away from home than they have at the Reebok Stadium. Bolton are 2-0-5 away from home, scoring 10 goals and conceding 15.
A 5-0 home win over Stoke City at the beginning of November looked to be a turning point in the Trotters season, but they have since lost 4 straight Premier League games and have conceded at least 2 goals in each of those defeats. Bolton have not drawn any of their last 25 League games, losing 19 of those, and they have lost their last 3 away games.
David Wheater is suspended until Boxing Day, while Nigel Reo-Coker and Ivan Klasnic are both doubtful for this game and could be held out for the big clash with Blackburn Rovers.
Head to Head
Fulham beat Bolton 3-0 at home last season, although Bolton did win 0-1 here in the FA Cup.
The Cottagers have actually won 3 of their last 4 home games in the League against Bolton, although losing in the FA Cup and the Carling Cup in that time.
Goals have not really been an issue when these sides have played against one another, particularly at Craven Cottage where 4 of the last 6 League games have seen at least 3 goals scored.
Prediction
This is a very important game for Bolton Wanderers and Owen Coyle, especially with the pressure increasing on the manager as they find themselves in danger of falling into a deep hole in the League.
Fulham will look to take advantage of a team that has been conceding goals for fun in recent games, although the home side have found it a little tough to put the ball in the net recently themselves.
The price on the home win looks remarkably short considering how both teams have performed at home and away respectively, but I don't trust Bolton at all at the moment with the way they have been performing.
Instead, I was surprised to see the 'Over 2.5 Goals' priced at 1.90 considering the problems the away side have been having in defence.
Fulham themselves will be missing a first choice goalkeeper and Bolton are a team that have been involved with a lot of 'Overs' this season, with only 2 of their games finishing with less than 3 goals combined.
Fulham have not been scoring too many goals, but they do get a lot of shots on target and I can see them troubling Bolton, while Bolton themselves have been good for a goal in their recent games. The 'Overs' is priced just high enough for me to be interested.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Fulham 2-1 Bolton Wanderers
