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Fulham v Manchester United: Live on SS1 (4.00 Sunday):

Matches played in the Premier League at Craven Cottage:

Number of matches: 9

Fulham wins: 2—-Draws: 3—-United successes: 4 (goal difference: 13-14)

Since:

Fulham win: 0—Drawn game: 5—-United victory: 2

The last two games turned the previous stats on their head as Fulham won both games via an aggregate score-line of 5-0!

Until those defeats, United had scored in every Premier League game at Fulham, winning four of the seven games (drawing the other three) recording a positive goal difference of 14-8.

Number of ‘doubles’ gained over their opponents in the Premier League:

Fulham: 0—-Manchester United: 4

The match stats below are compiled with major football betting markets in mind. They are presented as facts without recommendation, allowing you to spot trends and decide whether they have relevance as betting opportunities. Click any ‘Bet Now’ button to see a bet slip from that bookmaker.

NARRATIVE:

Arsenal turned five of their six home victories into

Having held title ambitions a few weeks ago, Arsenal now face the prospect of finishing 4th & not 1st but the honest facts are that Fulham with their focus elsewhere are unlikely to put up too much of a fight in this one.

After a few weeks of great frustration & disappointment for Arsenal with the Champions League & title dreams crushed after a series of poor performances, Arsene Wenger will be delighted to be back on home turf against opponents he knows will let Arsenal play.

Arsenal absolutely detest sides who dare to challenge them physically & who dare to be stronger, more powerful & better organised but while Fulham will offer the organisation, they are unlikely to test Arsenal physically & that should allow Arsenal to play the free flowing, non-contact football Arsenal excel at.

Arsene Wenger will want to finish the season on a winning note & he should get his wish as Arsenal at home playing a Fulham reserve side who will want to remain injury free & so Arsenal look a rock solid bet to win in comfort & probably with a few goals as well.

Betting Recommendations:

Outright Match Result: Arsenal to win

Correct Score options: Arsenal to win 2-0/3-0

First Goalscorer each way/Player to score anytime: Van Persie/Walcott/Arshavin

Scorecast options: Van Persie/Walcott/Arshavin score 1st & Arsenal to win 2-0/3-0

Double Result: Arsenal H/T & F/T

The match stats below are compiled with major football betting markets in mind. They are presented as facts without recommendation, allowing you to spot trends and decide whether they have relevance as betting opportunities. Click any ‘Bet Now’ button to see a bet slip from that bookmaker.

NARRATIVE:

Fulham scored the only goal of the game in the 29th minute in the inaugural Premier fixture last season. Stoke won the reverse fixture via a 3-2 score-line earlier this year. All time league record: Fulham: 25–Draws: 15–Stoke: 23

MARKET:

Fulham: 1 win–Draws: 0–Stoke: No wins (goal difference: 1-0)

MARKET: Correct Score

1 x 1-0

MARKET: First team to score

Fulham: 1—-Stoke: 0

MARKET: Even or odd total of goals:

Even: 0—-Odd: 1

This should be an interesting clash between two sides who fully deserve their place in the Premier League & certainly both Roy Hodgson & Tony Pulis deserve great credit for the excellent jobs they have done in the last few seasons.

Roy Hodgson is now widely tipped to win Manager of the Year after guiding Fulham through an incredible season covering 60 matches & into a place in the Europa League Final while also maintaining a solid league campaign.

Tony Pulis has again managed to achieve a mid table finish with Stoke City for the second season running & they now look likely to be a very solid Premier League side for the next few years at least.

In terms of this match then the prize at stake for both Fulham & Stoke City is the potential to still finish 9th in the Premier League & earn a few extra million pounds so clearly this match does mean something & should ensure both teams are fully committed.

Tactically both Fulham & Stoke City are set up & organised in a similar fashion with team organisation, defensive strength & a solid team ethic the key factors which should make this a tight, competitive match & both teams will believe they can get something from the game.

The absolute key factor could be the strength of Fulham’s home form compared to Stoke City’s poor away form & although Stoke City have achieved 8 away draws, they very rarely look like winning & don’t usually carry too much of a goal threat away from home so that should give Fulham an excellent chance here.

This is not an entirely straightforward game to call & there probably will not be too much between Fulham & Stoke City on the night but Fulham are very hard to beat at home & they look a solid bet to finish their home league campaign with another win.

Betting Recommendations:

Outright Match Result: Fulham to win

Correct Score options: Fulham to win 2-0/2-1

First Goalscorer each way/Player to score anytime: Dempsey/Nevland/Murphy

Scorecast options: Dempsey/Nevland/Murphy score 1st & Fulham win 2-0/2-1

Double Result: Fulham H/T & F/T

The match stats below are compiled with major football betting markets in mind. They are presented as facts without recommendation, allowing you to spot trends and decide whether they have relevance as betting opportunities. Click any ‘Bet Now’ button to see a bet slip from that bookmaker.

NARRATIVE:

Five of the six games have produced repetitive score-lines and even the lone 0-0 draw in December 2006 was backed up by the same score-line in an F.A. Cup encounter between the two teams at Craven Cottage during the Premiership years. Fulham have yet to lead at half time which has hardly helped their cause, though it

Fulham are Europa League Finalists – incredibly that is definitely a true statement & all the praise must go to everybody connected with Fulham Football Club & most notably Roy Hodgson, the master who has pulled all the strings so well.
Last season Roy Hodgson & his Fulham side had a wonderful season & finished 7th in the Premier League which was a remarkable achievement but one that many believed they would struggle to get even close to this season.

However, Roy Hodgson & the Fulham squad have used that achievement to push themselves even further this season & produce even great performances and all that has been rewarded with a well earned place in the Europa League Final.

Of course, the big question now is how will being in the Europa League final affect Fulham’s performances in their last 3 Premier League matches & clearly Roy Hodgson will now want to look after his key players to make sure they are ready for the biggest game in Fulham’s history.

The Europa League final is on the 12th of May & yet Fulham still have 3 Premier League fixtures to fulfil before that which surely means Roy Hodgson make massive changes to the starting & indeed the reserves.

There has to be a strong chance that Roy Hodgson will change the whole side & indeed the key players such as Schwarzer, Hangelaand, Murphy, Zamora, Konchesky, Gera, Davies & Duff will probably be rested for the rest of the league season now & that will definitely make Fulham weaker.

The other key factor is the focus of the Fulham players will be on the Europa League Final & although this match against West Ham United is a London derby, the Fulham players are unlikely to be totally pumped up for this & that could make them vulnerable in this game & in their remaining league fixtures.

West Ham United arrive in this London derby after a hard fought & well deserved home win against Wigan that secured their status in the Premier League & that really could give them a massive lift going into this game.

Local pride is all that is at stake for West Ham United & we are expecting them to look to finish the season on a high & the West Ham players will want to give Gianfranco Zola a good send off as his time at West Ham United certainly looks over now.

This should be a good, competitive London derby that can go either way but with Fulham’s focus understandably on the Europa League Final, West Ham United look worth a punt to edge this & give their long suffering fans a long awaited away win.

Betting Recommendations:

Outright Match result: West Ham United to win

Correct Score options: West Ham United to win 2-0/2-1

First Goalscorer each way/Player to score anytime: Cole/Parker/Noble

Scorecast options: Cole/Parker/Noble score 1st & West Ham win 2-02/2-1

Double Result: West Ham H/T & F/T

The match stats below are compiled with major football betting markets in mind. They are presented as facts without recommendation, allowing you to spot trends and decide whether they have relevance as betting opportunities. Click any ‘Bet Now’ button to see a bet slip from that bookmaker.

NARRATIVE:

Fulham’s woeful record at Goodison Park is best summed up by the fact that the visitors have yet to lead at half time and have lost all eight games. Holding the home team at bay until the break on just three occasions, Fulham proceeded to concede goals at an alarming rate during the second period of play. The fact that Everton have only completed the double over their London rivals on one occasion suggests that Everton were nearly as bad in the return encounter. Doubles: Everton 1—-Fulham 0

MARKET:

Everton: 8 wins–Draws: 0–Fulham: No wins (goal difference: 19/4)

MARKET: Correct Score

2 x 1-0 & 2 x 3-1

MARKET: First team to score

Everton: 7—-Fulham: 1

MARKET: Even or odd total of goals:

Even: 3—-Odd: 5

The Europa League is very much the poor relation to the Champions League in terms of finance & profile but many great teams with proud traditions have competed in the competition this year & we are now down to the Final 4 teams.
Liverpool, Atletico Madrid, Hamburg & Fulham are the 4 teams left in the hunt for the main prize & they all know that absolutely everything is still to play for & we are expecting these Semi Final clashes to be very interesting & competitive contests.

We have had a good luck at the set up of the Semi Final 1st leg matches & here are our views on the games with the value betting recommendations we feel are worth consideration.

Atletico Madrid vs Liverpool – (Thursday 8.05pm)

Many pundits & football fans have this tie down to produce the eventual winners of the competition so clearly this clash of Atletico Madrid & Liverpool is a very important match & should be a very competitive contest.

It’s not easy to split these two sides on any level & they both have similar levels of quality throughout their teams so it is going be a very close call indeed.

Atletico Madrid will see home advantage as the key & we believe they have to take a fair lead to Anfield if they are to have any chance so that creates pressure but we do expect them to be positive & go for the win in this one.

The key players for Atletico Madrid will be their excellent, talented strike pairing of Diego Forlan & Sergio Aguero and on their best form they are capable of destroying any defence and they will carry the main threat to Liverpool in this one & how they play could decide the tie.

Liverpool are always confident of beating any side at home so their target for this match will be to achieve a positive result first & if that means a win then fine but away goals & a scoring draw would more than suit Rafa Benitez & his cautious style.

Rafa Benitez does employ a ‘must not lose’ policy in a lot of games & particularly in scenarios such as this so we are expecting an organised, solid Liverpool performance with their attacks likely to be limited to counter attacks.

A massive factor for Liverpool will be how the squad recovers from the fact they have had a disturbed preparation for the game with an extended bus journey to the match & that could well have an effect on the fitness & mental sharpness of the Liverpool players for this one.

It is going to be a fascinating, competitive clash between Atletico Madrid & Liverpool and indeed a scoring draw is incredibly tempting but we just favour a value punt on Atletico Madrid to make home advantage pay & take a vital lead to Anfield.

Betting Recommendations:

Outright Match Result: Atletico Madrid to win

Correct Score options: Atletico Madrido to win 2-0/2-1

First Goalscorer each way/Player to score anytime: Aguero/Forlan/Salvio

Scorecast options: Aguero/Forlan/Salvio score 1st & Atletico Madrid win 2-0/2-1

Double Result: Atletico Madrid H/T & F/T

Hamburg vs Fulham – (Thurday 8.05pm)

Roy Hodgson & Fulham have been on an absolutely fantastic journey across europe, enjoying some fantastic nights & totally deserving their place in the Semi Finals but could Hamburg prove just too strong for them now?

Fulham beat the reigning German Champions Wolfsburg in the last round so that will give them massive confidence & indeed ensure they get great respect from Hamburg but this definitely does look to be their toughest test to date.

Hamburg have been excellent in the Europa League & are a very dangerous side who believe in playing positive, attacking football & always look to score goals so this is going to be another challenge for Fulham whom to be fair have proved they have what it takes to handle that so far.

Hamburg’s clear target for this match will be to get a good win to take into the 2nd leg while Fulham will be looking to score an away goal & avoid defeat so it should prove to be a fascinating, tactical contest & should be an entertaining game.

On the basis it is likely to be an open match, that will suit Hamburg much better than Fulham and home advantage looks the decisive factor here & makes Hamburg a solid bet to get a vital win to take to Fulham for the 2nd leg.

Betting Recommendations:

Outright Match Result: Hamburg to win

Correct Score options: Hamburg to win 2-1/3-1

First Goalscorer each way/Player to score anytime: Van Nistelrooy/Berg/Trochowski

Scorecast options: Van Nistelrooy/Berg/Trochowski score 1st & Hamburg win 2-1/3-1

Double Result: Hamburg H/T & F/T