English Premier
2011-09-24 - West Brom vs Fulham
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football : English Premier League
Saturday 24 September 2011 - Kickoff 3pm
West Brom
West Brom have been given a tough fixture list to start the new season, but Roy Hodgson would still have expected his side to have picked up more than the 3 points they have gained. To make matters worse for the manager, last week represented the first really bad performance of the season as they were brushed aside by Swansea.
The Baggies prop up the rest of the table thanks to that 3-0 loss at the Liberty Stadium and they have the most League defeats, alongside Bolton Wanderers. West Brom have lost both home games in front of their own fans, scoring 1 goal and conceding 3- while the loss to Manchester United is understandable, you have to imagine the fans would have wanted more from the game with Stoke.
West Brom lost a tough game at Everton in the Carling Cup on Wednesday night, conceding an equaliser in the 89th minute before falling in extra time. They are 3-0-3 in their last 6 Premier League games at the Hawthornes and they have only kept 2 clean sheets in their last 21 Premier League games there.
Gabriel Tamas will complete his suspension for assaulting James Vaughan of Norwich with an elbow. Roy Hodgson had made a few changes to his side for the Carling Cup game during the week, but the likes of Chris Brunt and Peter Odemwingie may feel the pace after playing 120 minutes at Goodison Park.
Fulham
Martin Jol continues to try and get the best out of his new side, but may just have seen his side receive a kick start after coming from 0-2 down against Manchester City to force a draw last Sunday in the League.
Fulham currently sit in 18th place in the Premier League thanks to their superior goal difference to Bolton and West Brom, but they remain the only team in the Premier League that have yet to win a game this season. The flip side to that is only the top 7 clubs in the League have lost less games than the Cottagers who will want to improve on a annual poor away form. They are 0-0-2 away from Craven Cottage, scoring 1 goal and conceding 4.
The team have now drawn 4 games in a row in all competitions (counting the Chelsea Carling Cup a draw as it ended 0-0 at 90 minutes). Fulham had scored at least 1 goal in their previous 4 games before the goalless draw a Stamford Bridge. Fulham may have lost their opening 2 away games in the League this season, but they finished last season with back to back wins on their travels.
Aaron Hughes could return to the side after missing the draw with City last weekend, but Andrew Johnson, Dickson Etuhu and Simon Davies will not be with the squad. Martin Jol made a few changes for the Carling Cup so you have to expect the likes of Brede Hangeland, Bobby Zamora and Danny Murphy will be restored to the starting line up.
Head to Head
West Brom won the corresponding fixture 2-1 last season meaning they are unbeaten in their last 5 home games against Fulham.
Prediction
This should be a good game of football to watch as two managers send out sides that will look to get the ball down and pass their way to success.
Both sides will also be under a bit of pressure to get a result as they won't want to be sitting in the relegation zone for too long, and the 120 minutes both teams played during the week may lead to some mental mistakes being made.
I expect both sides will be able to get on the scoresheet in this one, and therefore I am going to play the 'Over 2.5 Goal' market.
There are enough attacking options in both squads to cause problems for the other, and I can see someone winning this late as defenders mentally struggle to keep up after the exertions of the Carling Cup ties.
Who wins? I have no idea, although gun to my head I would favour the away side to get the 3 points.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
West Brom 1-2 Fulham
