English Premier
2011-08-28 - Newcastle United vs Fulham
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football : English Premier League
Sunday 28 August 2011 - Kickoff 1pm
Newcastle United
Newcastle United may have had a turbulent Summer, but they have made a decent start to the new season, although the side were pushed to extra time in their Carling Cup win on Thursday at Scunthorpe. They also saw their 3rd key player from last season leave the club since then as Joey Barton moved to QPR on a free transfer.
The Magpies will start the game in 8th position having gained a decent 4 points from their opening 2 games against Arsenal at home and at Sunderland. The win in the North-East Derby will have kept the fans happy who are a little disillusioned with seeing so many of their better players leave the club. The 0-0 draw at Arsenal is their only game played at St James' Park this season.
The opening day draw with Arsenal means they have lost just 1 of their last 10 Premier League games at home, that coming against Everton, and they have entertained the Gunners twice, Tottenham and Manchester United in that run. However, of those 10 games played, the home team have won just 3.
Joey Barton joins Jose Enrique and Kevin Nolan in leaving the club this Summer. His position is likely to be taken by either Dan Gosling or Sylvain Marveaux. Shola Ameobi is a doubt, while Mike Williamson, Steve Harper and Hatem Ben Arfa are still out.
Fulham
Fulham progressed through to the group stages of the Europa League with a 3-1 aggregate win over Dnipro completed on Thursday, but there has been a few concerns expressed by Martin Jol and he was quoted as saying his side need a result here.
It is interesting to see a manager talking in those terms this early in the season, but Fulham have picked up just 1 point from their opening 2 games and are yet to score a goal. They were beaten in their only away game at Wolves last Sunday 2-0, and that result never looked in doubt. Jol refused to blame their participation in a European game days before that defeat.
Fulham have already played 5 times away from home this season, and it must be a worry that they have failed to score in 4 of those games. They have lost their last 2 at Wolves and Dnipro and they have failed to score in their last 3 away from home.
John Arne Riise is a major doubt after coming off injured in the Ukraine on Thursday. Simon Davies has also been ruled out for 5 months.
Head to Head
Fulham have a very good recent record against Newcastle, being unbeaten in their last 4 Premier League games against them, including picking up a 0-0 draw here.
Newcastle have won just 1 of their last 6 home games against their visitors.
While both teams are known for playing football on the ground and attacking, 5 of the last 6 games between the sides have seen only 2 goals or less scored.
Prediction
I think this game will be close, simply because neither has found their feet in front of goal.
I was going to back Fulham not to lose the game, but the markets have adjusted to take into consideration their recent success at St James'.
Therefore, I had a look at the goals market and while the Under 2.5 Goals market looks a little short, the option of 'Both teams NOT to score' looks reasonably priced at 1.92.
This would have been a winner in 5 of the last 6 games between the sides and looks the best way to go about this game considering both their troubles in front of goal.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Newcastle United 0-0 Fulham
