Swansea vs Fulham Betting Pick | English Premier

English Premier

2011-12-10 - Swansea vs Fulham

A Sports Betting Pick by Auls

Swansea v Fulham
Football: English Premier League
Saturday 10 December 2011 - Kick Off 3pm

Swansea

Swansea have been very easy on the eye in their debut season in the Premier League, but a 4-2 loss at Blackburn Rovers last week means they are still very much expected to be one of the sides that are fighting for survival. Their form at the Liberty Stadium has been good so far this season, and it is games like this that may determine if they maintain their Premier League status next season.

The loss at Ewood Park dropped Swansea down to 15th in the Premier League, and they are only 4 points better off than Blackburn in the final relegation spot. Swansea are 3-3-1 at home this season, scoring 8 goals and conceding just 2, making them the team with the best home defence so far this season.

If there was some positives to be taken out of the loss last week, it was Swansea scoring 2 goals last week after going 3 games in a row without troubling the scoreboard. The Swans had won 3 consecutive games at the Liberty Stadium until the last two games here where they have picked up 1 point and failed to score a goal.

Danny Graham has a slight knock but should be fit to start this weekend. Angel Rangel is out until the end of the month, but Steven Caulker should be passed fit and could be drafted into the defence.

Fulham

Martin Jol has seen his side pick up some positive results of late, results which have seen the team quietly moving away from the bottom of the League after a tough start to the season. A 1-0 win over Liverpool at Craven Cottage on Monday night should inspire more confidence into the side as they prepare for a busy period of games.

The win over Liverpool moved Fulham's points total to 15 points this year and they are now up to 13th in the Premier League. There is still more to get out of the side if they are to fulfil another top half finish, including improving an annual poor away record. Fulham are 1-3-3 away from Craven Cottage this season, scoring 4 goals and conceding 7, making them the joint lowest away scorers in the League so far.

Fulham are unbeaten in their last 3 Premier League games, picking up 5 points, but they have faced a hot Arsenal away from home and Liverpool at home in those games. Fulham are also unbeaten in their last 3 away games in the League, keeping 2 clean sheets in those games.

Danny Murphy is a big doubt after suffering an injury against Liverpool and will need to pass a late fitness test to travel with the squad to Wales. Steve Sidwell could return to the squad this weekend and looks like a direct replacement for Murphy in centre midfield.

Head to Head

These two teams last met in the 2008/09 FA Cup, and Fulham earned a 1-1 draw here in Swansea before beating them at home in the replay.

Prediction

These two teams are not the most free-scoring teams in the League, while both rely on their tough defences to help keep them in games and earn points.

It is no surprise to see the 'Under 2.5 Goals' market priced at short odds-on, but I am instead looking at 'Both Teams NOT to Score' in the game.

Fulham have struggled for goals away from home and they have failed to find the net in more than half of their away games in the League this season. Add to this the fact they have failed to score at Twente and Wislaw Krakow in the Europa League and you can see that they have a few problems to deal with.

They will also be faced with a Swansea defence that has performed very well at home this season, leading the way in terms of goals conceded at home.

To further my belief that one of the teams will not score, Fulham can point to the fact they have kept clean sheets at West Brom, Sunderland and Wigan in the League, while Swansea have not scored in their last 2 home games.

At odds against, I am going to back one, or both, of these teams failing to find the net.

The Statistics :

SWANSEA LAST SIX HOME FORM
	DATE	RESULT		OPPOSITION
	2011-11-27	D	0-0	H v Aston_Villa
	2011-11-19	L	0-1	H v Man_Utd
	2011-10-29	W	3-1	H v Bolton
	2011-10-02	W	2-0	H v Stoke_City
	2011-09-17	W	3-0	H v WBA
	2011-08-27	D	0-0	H v Sunderland

FULHAM LAST SIX AWAY FORM
	DATE	RESULT		OPPOSITION
	2011-11-26	D	1-1	A v Arsenal
	2011-11-19	D	0-0	A v Sunderland
	2011-10-29	W	0-2	A v Wigan
	2011-10-15	L	2-0	A v Stoke_City
	2011-09-24	D	0-0	A v WBA
	2011-08-28	L	2-1	A v Newcastle