English Premier
2011-10-29 - Wigan Athletic vs Fulham
A Sports Betting Pick by Lamps
Football : England : Premiership
Saturday 29th October - Kickoff 3:00pm
Wigan
Martinez's Wigan continue to struggle this season and currently occupy 19th place in the table. The good news for Wigan is that a win can see them climb out of the bottom 3 and this looks a winnable game given Fulham's poor away form.
Winning games has been a real problem with just 1 win this season which came against QPR (2-0) back in August. Since that game Athletic has lost 6 straight matches with an aggregate score of 14-3!
It's not a case of Wigan struggling just away from home, they are struggling wherever they play. With the 17th (home) and 19th (away) records in the league it's no surprise to see them struggling this much.
When looking at the home form in particular I guess the bonus is that their sole win has come here at the DW. However, we can't look beyond the shocking record of played 4 won 1, drew 1 and 2 defeats which for a home side is not good enough for this league.
The side is clearly low on confidence right now and was comprehensively beaten in their last 2 home games to Spurs (2-1) and Bolton (1-3). Martinez must start building momentum and this home game looks the perfect time to start.
Team news is that Kirkland and McManaman miss out but it's virtually a full strength Wigan this weekend. Last weekend Martinez dropped McCarthy, Gohouhri and Di Santo with Rodallega, Figueroa and Crusat getting starts. All 3 played well and I think all will keep their places as Wigan narrowly lost 1-0 to Newcastle. Rodallega has goals in him but isn't getting the supply, this must change if Wigan are to start winning games again.
Predicted Wigan Lineup :
Al-Habsi, Boyce, Caldwell, Alcaraz, Figueroa, Watson, Diamé, Jones, Crusat, Rodallega, Moses.
Fulham
Martin Jol's Fulham dropped 3 places into 17th following last Sunday's surprising 3-1 home defeat to Struggling Everton. With just 7pts from a possible 27, it doesn't make great reading for Fulham. The side is fighting on two fronts both, domestically and in the Europa League, maybe this is the season it catches up on Fulham.
Like Wigan, Fulham has only won once this season but the better news is that they only have 4 defeats to Wigan's 6. Fulham are one of the leagues draw specialists with 4 draws from their 9 games, however 3 of these all have come at Craven Cottage.
Away from home, Fulham as per most seasons continue to struggle with just 1 point from their 4 games. At this stage last season Fulham had played a game more and like this season only had a single point to their name. The West London side are notorious bad travellers but surely they can't fear going to the DW and this may be the game that kick starts their season.
In their 4 games away from home, Fulham has lost at Wolves (2-0), Newcastle (2-1) and Stoke (2-0) but did draw 0-0 at WBA. However, in the last 10 games on the road Fulham has only lost 5 with 2 wins and 3 draws. The problem has been scoring goals with just 9 on their travels in that run which is less than a goal a game. Whilst at the over end they have conceded 12 which isn't too bad but it does look as though Fulham will concede this weekend.
Team news is that Fulham will be without Davies,Riise (mid) and Sá for the visit to the DW. The side is quite strong with Johnson and Zamora up top supported by an attacking midfield of Murphy, Sidwell, Dempsey and Dembele. The back line is solid and has kept 2 clean sheets in their last 4 largely thanks to the excellent Hangeland who will marshall the back line as per.
Predicted Fulham Lineup :
Schwarzer, Baird, Hughes, Hangeland, Riise, Dempsey, Murphy, Sidwell, Dembélé, Zamora, Johnson.
The Betting Verdict
Both sides need to bounce back and kick start their seasons with Wigan on a bad run of 6 straight defeats. Whilst Fulham is winless on the road having lost 3 of their 4 games.
Both sides find scoring goals incredibly hard at moment with Wigan only scoring 2 or more in 3 of their last 9 home games. However, in those 3 games they did win all 3 so they key is to score 2 goals or more for Wigan.
Fulham defensively on the road has conceded 2 or more in 5 of their last 9 away games and went on to lose all those games. I think with the odds on offer I will take a small bet on Wigan to finally end this horror run and get a massive win over Fulham.
It's worth noting that Wigan have not lost in 11 games at home to Fulham and whilst 8 have ended in draws I'd rather be with Wigan than against them this weekend.
However, I'm not brave enough to take them in the fixed market. Instead my bet is on the AH market and at odds against, at home, at level ball against one of the worst travellers in the league I'll take a chance on Wigan this weekend.
Good Luck.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Wigan 2-1 Fulham
Gooner’s Statistical Value Bet
Take Wigan +0 AH at 2.28 @ 188Bet
