English Premier
2025-04-01 - Arsenal vs Fulham
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Tuesday 1st April 2025 - Kick Off 7:45pm
Arsenal
There will be no statements put out by the club, and they are not expected to raise the white flag as far as the Premier League title goes. However, it would take something quite memorable if Arsenal were to claw back the 12 point gap to leaders Liverpool with just nine League games left to play, even with a trip to Anfield included in that.
A win over Chelsea before the March international break has kept Arsenal in 2nd place in the Premier League table and feels like a result that can just ease any lingering concerns of being dragged into a battle to finish in the top four. There is a big Champions League Quarter Final coming up and Mikel Arteta will be keen for his team to build some momentum into that tie with Real Madrid beginning by improving the 9-4-1 record at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal are unbeaten in 5 games in all competitions, but have been struggling for goals outside of the crushing 1-7 win in Eindhoven in early March. The Premier League title race looked to be run after Arsenal failed to win any of 3 League games in a row, although the win over Chelsea keeps them very slightly interested. Arsenal have won 4 of their last 6 Premier League games in front of the home fans.
Jurrien Timber and Raheem Sterling are expected to be available, but Riccardo Calafiori may miss the opening games in April. The big story is Bukayo Saka who is edging closer to a return and fans are hoping he can be involved in one of the next two Premier League fixtures ahead of the Champions League Quarter Final First Leg.
Fulham
Most of the clubs involved in the FA Cup Quarter Finals this past weekend will have been thinking about winning the trophy considering the remaining teams involved in the last eight. With a home draw, Fulham fans would certainly have arrived at Craven Cottage filled with expectation, but the 0-3 home defeat to Crystal Palace will have stung in the stands and on the field.
That means the remaining two months of the season will be focusing on the Premier League and 8th placed Fulham still have plenty to play for if they can pick themselves up and dust themselves off. There is only a 4 point gap between Fulham and rivals Chelsea in the top four and the team will be heading to North London with a respectable 6-4-4 away record.
Fulham, for all of their successes, have been a little inconsistent in recent games and that is underlined by the fact they have lost 3 of their last 6 games in all competitions. The form at Craven Cottage has been more patchy and Fulham had been unbeaten in 5 away games in all competitions and had won 4 of those before conceding deep into injury time in a 2-1 defeat at Brighton most recently.
Kenny Tete and Harry Wilson are both hoping to return this month, but not as soon as this fixture. Changes to the first eleven may be made following the disappointing defeat in the FA Cup.
Head to Head
Fulham and Arsenal played out a 1-1 draw at Craven Cottage earlier this season.
Arsenal have never been beaten at home by Fulham in 32 previous meetings.
However, The Gunners have not had things all of their own way recently with 4 of the last 7 at the Emirates Stadium ending in draws.
Prediction
There will be some disappointment in the manner of the FA Cup defeat on Saturday, but Marco Silva's team have found a way to bounce back from setbacks and they will be looking to do the same over the coming days.
They face the top two in the Premier League in a short space of time, but Fulham are 8th in the table and there is still a real chance that the manager can guide the club back into European Football. Winning a trophy may have meant more, but there is no doubt the financial boost that playing in Europe will offer Fulham and that is a realistic target for them.
First up is a trip to North London to face an Arsenal team that are clinging on as title challengers without there being too many who will be rushing out to back them to overturn Liverpool's advantage.
A win over Chelsea may have been most important to prevent Arsenal being dragged back into a battle to earn a spot in the Champions League and Mikel Arteta's team will have benefited from having a bit of time off.
Some players have represented their national teams, but the likes of Gabriel Martinelli and, most importantly, Bukayo Saka have had a bit more time to recover from their injuries. The latter has been a big miss for Arsenal as the lack of goals have proven to be costly, but Arteta may not be willing to rush Saka back with the Champions League likely to be the priority for the club through the rest of the campaign.
Having him back in the match day squad would be a boost, but Bukayo Saka is still considered a doubt and it may be more important to get him some minutes against Everton at the weekend.
This leaves Arsenal with the same problem that has been evident since Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz went down with season ending injuries and it is still a question of where the goals can be found.
Playing a Fulham team that have given them plenty to think about in recent seasons makes the challenge that much more difficult.
Despite the goals conceded on Saturday, Fulham have tended to be much more organised defensively and they can make things tough for Arsenal at the very least. Scoring first would make Fulham very difficult to beat here and the feeling is that the away team can avoid being blown away by The Gunners.
In the 2024/25 season, Fulham have not been beaten by more than a single goal margin at any away ground visited in the Premier League and they can make things awkward for the hosts in this fixture.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Arsenal 2-1 Fulham
FIXED ODDS BETTING TIP :
I'll back Fulham + 1.5 Asian Handicap at 1.64 with SportBet.One
