Premier League: Can Fulham Withstand the Red Wave?

Liverpool vs Fulham

Any trip to Anfield can be daunting; for over half a century it has been one of the most feared venues for visiting fans and the Spion Kop is of legendary status, the English version of Borussia Dortmund’s Yellow Wall.

But when Premier League: Liverpool vs Fulham kicks off at 2pm local time on Sunday, the visiting fans won’t be dazzled by yellow, there will be a bank of red facing them and their team… and one heck of a noise. On the pitch the Liverpool players respond and, as Jurgen Klopp’s team seeks to keep the pressure up on the top two, there will be wave after wave of red assaults on the Fulham goal.

League leaders Arsenal host Wolves on Saturday while second placed Manchester City are at home to Spurs on Sunday, and Aston Villa, level on 28 points with Liverpool are away to Bournemouth. We have a fascinating weekend of football on the way and this match is up there as one of the biggest. The other teams in the mix will be following the Liverpool vs Fulham updates, that’s for sure.         

Both teams come into the game on the back of a good result; Liverpool drew away to title favourites Manchester City while Fulham won a controversial five goal thriller at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Talking Points

Salah is on fire  

At SBOTOP odds of 1.23 to win this match the Reds should really collect all three points; and if their main man continues his current form then it is hard to see any other outcome. Mo Salah scored twice in Liverpool’s last home game, a 3-0 victory over Brentford, and that makes it ten goals and five assists for the campaign. Meanwhile the attacking players around have changed, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino are long gone, and Darwin Nunez, Diogo Jota, Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz are all jostling for position.

Salah was aggressively courted by the Saudi Pro league in the summer and if he had gone the Reds were less likely to be title contenders, but they are certainly in the race now. This is a strong team with a frightening attack; Nunez is a powerful runner with four goals and four assists, while Diaz has three, including a last gasp equaliser away to Luton Town. Jota is now sidelined and Klopp does have a few injury worries; wingback Andrew Robertson and midfielder Thiago are out and the Portuguese striker and keeper Allison have joined them in the physio room.

With another home game, against Sheffield United, to follow, Klopp will rotate his squad but he has plenty of options.              

Cottagers need a run of luck

Fortune favours the brave, or so they say, and it certainly worked out that way when a late penalty, the second converted by Willian, gave the Cottagers a much needed 3-2 win. Fulham were heading in the wrong direction before they met Wolves on Monday but they came out fighting and went ahead on seven minutes when Alex Iwobi finished off a superb move with a clever finish. Matheus Cunha headed the leveller for Wolves, but Willian restored Fulham’s lead from the spot after Nelson Semedo fouled Tom Cairney on the edge of the penalty area.

Wolves fought back again when they had a spot kick of their own after Ream had fouled Hwang Hee Chan and the Korean converted the chance. It looked like the two teams would share the spoils but when Harry Wilson went down in the penalty area VAR intervened after play had been waved on. Wolves were furious but Fulham rode their luck and had enjoyed the better of the game.

Silva needs his team to stay on the front foot; this next game is a huge test against Liverpool but, with home games against Nottingham Forest and West Ham United to come a positive approach could yield more points. And the Londoners do have good reason to be positive over the next three games as their best player, midfield general Joao Palhinha, is back from suspension. 

History

Liverpool have won 19, drawn six and lost seven of the head to heads, though the Cottagers were unbeaten in three until they lost 1-0 at Anfield in May as Mo Salah converted a first half penalty.

In terms of recent form the Reds have won three, drawn two and lost one of the last six games in all competitions, while Fulham have won two drawn one and lost three. And to add weight to the betting odds, Liverpool have won all six of their home games this season.

Betting Tip

So the Liverpool vs Fulham betting odds are backing a home win with the draw at 5.80 and the Cottagers are at 7.33 to win. I think the Reds will come through comfortably, but the value lies in a goal fest as both teams are in scoring touch and, for a correct score-line, 3-1 to Liverpool at odds of 8.20 is a long shot alterative.

 

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