English Premier
2019-01-12 - Burnley vs Fulham
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Saturday 12th January 2019 - Kick Off 3pm
Burnley
There were some very light suggestions that Sean Dyche might be under some pressure as manager of Burnley with his team slipping back into the relegation zone, but results have begun to improve. Progressing in the FA Cup was a bonus for the club, but Burnley's main focus is making sure they pick up a big result in the Premier League this weekend as they take on a relegation rival at home.
With every club in the bottom fighting for survival the home form is going to be very important for them to avoid relegation. The same applies to Burnley who have improved to 3-1-6 at Turf Moor in the Premier League where they have scored 12 goals and conceded 20 so far this season.
Burnley have found some momentum at a key time with 3 straight wins in all competitions including back to back Premier League wins over West Ham United and Huddersfield Town. Last weekend they beat Barnsley in the FA Cup here and that has seen Burnley win 3 of their last 4 at Turf Moor and 2 of those victories came in the Premier League.
Robbie Brady is suspended and both Philipp Bardsley and Aaron Lennon are also expected to miss out through injury.
Fulham
Claudio Ranieri continues to search for the right formula which will help Fulham produce some consistent results and move out of the bottom three in the Premier League. He has urged the board to spend some more money in January as the Italian feels the current squad won't be able to avoid relegation, while the fringe players have not given Ranieri any food for thought about his starting eleven after a home loss in the FA Cup Third Round to League Two Oldham Athletic.
It is a huge game for Fulham who may not be able to reel Burnley back in if they are beaten at Turf Moor on Saturday. They come into this weekend in 19th place in the Premier League table and with 14 points which means they are 4 points behind Burnley and Cardiff City outside of the bottom three. Winning is a big ask of a Fulham team who are 0-2-9 away from home in the Premier League having scored 7 goals and conceded 28 in those games.
Fulham had been unbeaten in 3 Premier League games and had earned a vital win over Huddersfield Town in the last of those games, but a 4-1 loss to Arsenal and a 1-2 home defeat to Oldham Athletic in the Cup has ended any momentum earned. They have lost 8 of their last 9 away games in all competitions with the sole exception being a goalless draw at Newcastle United, and Fulham have lost to the likes of Cardiff City and Huddersfield Town in that poor run.
Alfie Mawson and Neeskens Kebano are both expected to miss out, while Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa is a doubt.
Head to Head
One bright spot in Fulham's season so far was the 4-2 win over Burnley at Craven Cottage back in August.
Burnley host Fulham for the first time since November 2015 when both played in the Championship and they have beaten them in 9 of their last 10 games at Turf Moor including a 3-1 win on that day.
Prediction
With 17 Premier League games left to play it is not an understatement to say this is a huge game for both Burnley and Fulham as the two clubs search for a way to avoid relegation into the Championship.
Points have been very hard to come by for both clubs through the first half of the season so fixtures against relegation rivals only increase in importance. It won't be lost on the home fans that a win for Burnley would mean they are 7 points clear of Fulham and could be a huge advantage even in January.
On the other hand a win for Fulham would leave a single point between these clubs so there is plenty on the line for both as Sean Dyche and Claudio Ranieri plot a way to help their clubs succeed.
The momentum is behind Burnley who have won 3 in a row including back to back Premier League games while getting back to basics defensively. Burnley have had 3 clean sheets in their last 4 home games and all of those games have ended in wins which was the formula for the success earned twelve months ago.
Now they face a goal-shy Fulham team who are coming in off an upset home defeat to Oldham Athletic in the FA Cup Third Round. Claudio Ranieri is asking for new players and he sounds like he can't get a consistent tune out of those at the club which puts his players under pressure to perform.
Ranieri has made Fulham a little tougher defensively, but they are going to be put under pressure by this Burnley team and I narrowly give the edge to the home team to find a way to break their visitors down and earn a huge three points.
It won't be the end for Fulham, but it will be a long way back and I will back Burnley to extend their historically strong home record against this opponent. Sean Dyche looks to have got the players performing as he would want and I think that leads to a win, although I will back Burnley on the Asian Handicap that returns half the stake in the event of a draw.
The Statistics :
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Pick :
Burnley 1-0 Fulham
FIXED ODDS BETTING TIP :
I'll back Burnley - 0.25 Asian Handicap @ 2.05 BetVictor
