English Premier
2012-03-31 - Fulham vs Norwich City
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Saturday 31 March 2012 - Kick Off 3pm
Fulham
You could see that Martin Jol was a little aggrieved that his side's hard working performance at Old Trafford was not awarded with a share of the spoils on Monday night as they were denied a late penalty. They will try and move on from that result and get back to winning ways as they entertain Norwich City at Craven Cottage.
The defeat at Manchester United has left Fulham in 13th place in the Premier League, but they have gained 36 points so far this season which means they are still more than capable of finishing in the top half of the table with a good end to the season. They have a 7-4-4 record at Craven Cottage this season, scoring 29 goals and conceding 22.
Fulham have lost 3 Premier League games in a row coming into this one, failing to score in any of those games. They had won 5 of their previous 6 games at home in all competitions until facing Swansea who left this part of West London with a 0-3 win. It says something about the team that 14 of the 22 goals they have conceded at home have come in 4 defeats.
Steve Sidwell and Andrew Johnson will be hoping to prove their fitness to at least be part of the squad this week. I think Jol will also play a more attacking team with the onus on them to make the running at home compared with the one that took to the field at Old Trafford on Monday night.
Norwich City
All credit to Paul Lambert who looks to have guided Norwich City to safety in their first season back in the Premier League after back to back promotions from League One through the Championship. Norwich were one of the favourites for relegation back in August, so it is a real achievement, especially considering a number of their players were League One players just a couple of years ago.
Norwich beat Wolves 2-1 at home last weekend to move up to 11th in the Premier League table and take their tally to 39 points. While they haven't reached the 40 point mark that people associate with safety, they have a 14 point buffer to QPR in the final relegation spot and look safe already. The team are 4-4-7 away from home this season, scoring 18 goals and conceding 28.
They had failed to win any of their last 5 games in all competitions, losing 4 of those, before coming from behind to beat Wolves last week. The Canaries have begun to struggle a little bit away from Carrow Road in recent games, losing 3 of their last 4 games and failing to score in any of those defeats.
Grant Holt scored twice last week but was also sent off and will serve a suspension. Daniel Ayala and Marc Tierney are both missing until next week at the earliest, while Anthony Pilkington is a doubt with a hamstring issue.
Head to Head
Norwich City escaped with a point when these teams met earlier this season after Simeon Jackson scored an injury time equaliser in a 1-1 draw.
Fulham have won 3 of their last 4 home games against Norwich in all competitions, although this will be their first meeting since the Cottagers beat them 6-0 here in the League during the 2004/05 season.
If memory serves me right, Norwich needed to obtain a result in that game to avoid relegation and thus they conceded a few late goals to make the scoreline much heavier than it might have been.
Prediction
Over the last few seasons, taking Fulham to win these games at home have usually paid dividends, but I do have a slight concern with their lack of goals in recent games.
I am still quite happy to back Fulham to win this game as I think they showed enough at Old Trafford to suggest they are capable of getting goals and they will have a more attacking line up out on Saturday than they did on Monday night.
Norwich can play with a bit of freedom afforded to them with that win over Wolves last week, but they have not been in the best of form lately, especially away from home, and they could struggle for goals in the absence of Grant Holt.
Even though Swansea won here last time out, I think Fulham's home form has been good since the loss to Manchester United in December, and I will back them to come through here with the three points.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Fulham 2-0 Norwich City
FIXED ODDS BETTING TIP :
I'll back Fulham -0.75 Asian Handicap @ 1.95 (Pinnacle)
