Some extremely dour looking Soccer jerseys fixtures on Saturday afternoon in the Premier League but there appears a bet to be had at Turf Moor and I want to take on the home side.
Were it not for Burnley’s excellent home record then they could well have found themselves cut adrift at the bottom already but early season wins over the likes of Everton and Manchester United gave them confidence to perform in front of their own fans. That said, their recent displays have fallen some way short of the previous standards set and Fulham will be no pushovers on Saturday.
Having conceded 11 goals in their last four Premier League games the alarm bells are probably ringing for Owen Coyle and he won’t have been pleased by back-to-back defeats at West Ham and Portsmouth. That pair are fellow relegation candidates but Saturday’s opponents are a different proposition altogether and Fulham are slowly getting their act together on their travels.
While Roy Hodgson’s men have not won away from Craven Cottage since the opening day at Fratton Park it is just two defeats in 13 matches in all competitions, when unlucky against Roma in the Italian capital and at in-form Birmingham, and surely they will be good enough to pick up a point in the north-west. I’ve been really impressed with them this season and Hodgson should be applauded for the job he is doing.
It is a sign of the progress made at Fulham that a win on Saturday would see them keep in touch with the top four and in Clint Dempsey and Bobby Zamora they have a pair playing at the very top of their games. Hodgson’s pleas for an England call up for the latter are probably wide of the mark but Zamora is a handful for any defence at present while the USA midfielder has five goals in his last seven outings.
Fulham have coped admirably this season with the loss of injured strike duo Andrew Johnson and Diomansy Kamara but they are tough to beat these days too thanks to a robust backline lead by the excellent Brede Hangeland and just 16 top flight goals conceded so far this season pays testament to that.
Following 1-0 wins over Sunderland and CSKA Sofia in the last seven days the Cottagers will fancy their chances of making it a hat-trick of victories but Hodgson will first of all demand they return south unscathed and Fulham should have no trouble achieving that.
The away side will take heart from Wigan’s 3-1 triumph at Turf Moor and I don’t need much convincing to take on Burnley at around the 2.74 mark. There is a world of difference between the sides and hopefully that will be evident in the score line on Saturday.
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