Fulham v Liverpool – Preview, Predictions, and Best Bets

Fulham face Liverpool in the English Premier League on Sunday. The Cottagers have taken 28 of their 42 points at Craven Cottage. The Reds have drawn on their last three trips to face Fulham in all competitions.

Fulham Form

Marco Silva’s side are wildly inconsistent. After a six-match winless run in all competitions, they won three of their next four league matches including 2-1 at Man Utd and 3-0 vs Brighton at home. Since then, it’s three losses in six matches. They highlighted their contrasting results by losing 2-1 at Wolves before beating Tottenham 3-0 at home.

A 3-3 draw at Sheffield United needed two late goals to spare their blushes. Fulham lost 3-1 at Nottingham Forest (and were 3-0 down at half-time) and then lost 1-0 at home to Newcastle. Last time out, a 2-0 victory at West Ham brought just their third away league win of the campaign with 3.29 xG produced.

Fulham Team News

An unchanged XI is expected for this match. Fulham have no injuries and no suspensions right now. Rodrigo Muniz has eight goals in his last 11 league matches and will lead the line.

Sasa Lukic is tipped to anchor midfield ahead of Harrison Reed. Alex Iwobi will play down the right flank with Andreas Pereira as the number ten.

Fulham Motivation

Silva’s side play an open and expansive game. They can hurt the big teams and have beaten Arsenal and Man Utd this season.

Fulham will play for the three parts in this one. There will be space for Liverpool to enjoy, though.

Liverpool Form

Liverpool’s last nine matches have brought just four wins with three losses. Their FA Cup loss at Man Utd (4-3 after extra time) saw 3.93 xG allowed. They responded with league wins at home vs Brighton and Sheffield United, but a wasteful display saw a 2-2 draw at Man Utd in the league.

Successive losses piled misery on Jurgen Klopp as the Reds were thrashed 3-0 at home by Atalanta and lost 1-0 at home to Crystal Palace despite 2.81 xG put up. On Thursday, Liverpool went to Bergamo and won 1-0 in the Europa League, but it was not enough to progress to the semi-finals.

Liverpool Team News

Jurgen Klopp is without Conor Bradley, Joel Matip, and Thiago Alcantara due to injuries. It’s not clear if Trent Alexander-Arnold can start a second match in four days after just returning from injury.

The midfield could be freshened up with Wataru Endo and Ryan Gravenberch. Harvey Elliott and Diogo Jota are usually impact subs, but they may be handed starts with Mo Salah and Luis Diaz not at their best right now.     

Liverpool Motivation

The Reds simply have to win this match. If Arsenal win on Saturday, a Liverpool win here draws them level.

Even a single point here could be the death knell of their title challenge. Klopp will attack and risk defeat to turn a draw into a win here.

Key Stats

Fulham have drawn just 1 of their 16 home EPL matches this season (won 9, lost 6)

Fulham have drawn their last 3 home matches vs Liverpool in all competitions

Fulham have taken 28 of their 42 EPL points at home (66%)

Liverpool have lost 3 of their last 7 matches

Liverpool have scored 11 goals in their last 4 away matches

Verdict

It’s never easy betting on Fulham. They can beat the top clubs and then look complacent vs relegation battlers. Liverpool simply must win this fixture and we should see both sides on target.

Best Bet: Both Teams to Score + No Draw at 2.00

Alternative Bet: Liverpool win and Over 2.5 goals at 2.00

Value Bet: Liverpool win and both to score at 2.65

James O'Connor

James is a football analyst who writes about the tactics of the PSL and English Premier League. He holds the UEFA A coaching licence and has previously worked for several clubs in analysis roles.Twitter: https://twitter.com/footy_analysis