Eng. Championship
2021-12-03 - Fulham vs Bournemouth
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Championship
Friday 3rd December 2021 - Kick Off 7:45pm
This game is live on TV
Fulham
Marco Silva will feel his team have dropped points over the last couple of games with their performances deserving more than what Fulham earned, but they remain in a very secure spot going into December. This is a big chance for Fulham to underline their credentials as an automatic promotion candidate back into the Premier League and Silva will be looking for his team to bounce back and get back to winning ways.
The side may have dropped some points, but Fulham remain on top of the Championship and they are still 8 points clear of 3rd place. A 7-2-1 record at Craven Cottage has laid the foundation for success for Fulham this season and they have scored 23 goals and conceded 6 in those games.
Fulham are still unbeaten in 9 League games, but their 7 game winning run has come to an end in draws with Derby County and Preston North End. Wastefulness in front of goal proved to be costly for Fulham in their draw with Derby County in their last game at Craven Cottage, but the team had won 5 in a row in front of their own fans before that.
Bournemouth
The home fans will be ready to give Scott Parker a difficult time in his return to Craven Cottage with his new team on Friday evening in front of the television cameras. Scott Parker will be doing his best to avoid questions about that and instead will want his Bournemouth side to pose the questions on the field for their main rivals for automatic promotion.
The Cherries would have gone into this fixture on top of the Championship table if they had not blown a 2-0 lead over Coventry City last Saturday, but Bournemouth are 2nd in the table and 7 points clear of the Play Off spots. They have produced a 6-3-1 record away from home in the League so far this season.
Bournemouth have lost some of their momentum and they have only won 1 of their last 5 League games which has seen them knocked from the top of the table. The last couple of away League games have been difficult for Bournemouth who were beaten 3-2 at Derby County and then held to a 1-1 draw by Millwall.
Head to Head
In recent years Fulham and Bournemouth have missed one another as they have split time in the Premier League and Championship.
They last met in the Premier League in the 2018/19 season and both clubs were able to beat the other away from home.
Fulham have not won any of their last 6 at home against Bournemouth and they have been beaten in 4 of their last 5 at Craven Cottage against this opponent.
Prediction
This is a big game in the Championship as we enter the busy festive period of the season, but both Fulham and Bournemouth will feel they have already laid the foundation for a very successful season.
Both are coming in off some disappointing results, but the feeling is that Fulham are still playing the slightly better football.
The fans should be really up for the game, which features Scott Parker returning with Bournemouth having given up the Fulham job to move to the south coast, and I do think Fulham are creating more chances of the two games.
Bournemouth can be a stubborn team to break down, but Fulham hammered West Brom here and I think they will do just enough to exert their dominance over their main rivals at Craven Cottage.
The Pick :
Fulham 1-0 Bournemouth
