English Premier
2026-01-17 - Leeds United vs Fulham
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Saturday 17th January 2025 - Kick Off 3pm
Leeds United
They had to recover against Championship Derby County in the FA Cup Third Round, but Leeds United have made it through and they continue to roll through a real purple patch in form. Only a couple of late goals saw Leeds United fail to hold on for a big result in the last Premier League game played, but they have opened a big lead over the bottom three places.
Survival in the top flight remains the priority for Leeds United who are 16th in the Premier League table and 8 points clear of West Ham United in the bottom three. The fans will feel this is an opportunity to what some further distance between Leeds United and relegation and the team have produced a very solid 4-4-2 record at Elland Road in the top flight.
Leeds United have lost 1 of the last 9 games played in all competitions, although it should be noted that only 3 of those fixtures have ended in a victory. Since the defeat to Aston Villa, Leeds United have beaten both Chelsea and Crystal Palace at Elland Road in the Premier League and they have also held Liverpool and Manchester United to draws.
Jayden Bogle, Sam Byram and Joe Rodon should all be available this weekend. Sebastian Bornauw is a doubt, while Dan James is expected back later this month.
Fulham
This is potentially the last season Marco Silva will manage at Fulham Football Club, but that is a story for another day. He is not allowing contract extension talks to distract the players and Fulham have picked up some real momentum over the last month, and have also made progress in the FA Cup.
Domestic Cup competitions have been important to Marco Silva, while he has also guided Fulham up into 9th place in the Premier League table thanks to some positive results over the last month. There will be a real feeling that Fulham can finally return to European Football at the end of this campaign on current form, and they will be looking to improve the 3-2-5 away record in the top flight to remain on track.
Fulham are unbeaten in 6 games in all competitions and the come from behind win over Middlesbrough on Saturday means they have won 4 of those matches. They started poorly away from Craven Cottage, but Fulham make the long trip to Yorkshire knowing they have lost 1 of the last 5 away games played in all competitions and won 3 times in that run.
Kenny Tete and Josh King are doubts, while the likes of Calvin Bassey, Alex Iwobi and Samuel Chukwueze have helped Nigeria reach the African Cup of Nations Semi Final and will be back in the following week.
Head to Head
Fulham scored an injury time winner against Leeds United at Craven Cottage earlier this season.
Leeds United had beaten Fulham twice in a row at home, but the most recent fixture here ended in a 2-3 defeat in October 2022.
Prediction
This is an intriguing Premier League game to be played at Elland Road on Saturday with two teams in good form meeting one another.
Leeds United have been set as the favourites being at home, but Fulham have rounded into very strong form over the last month. This includes picking up several important away wins in the top flight and Marco Silva's men are likely to head to Yorkshire with a lot of confidence.
Daniel Farke and Marco Silva will want to see their respective teams get on the front foot and cause problems for the other and the layers may be underestimating the chance of seeing at least three goals shared out.
Since the tweak in formation, Leeds United have proven to be very effective in the final third and that has seen plenty of goals produced in their recent fixtures. The 1-1 draw is perhaps the one scoreline that could be the most problematic, but you have to expect Leeds United to continue to try and get forward and create opportunities through set pieces.
Fulham have been involved in some tighter contests, but this is another team that have shown qualities in the final third without being completely watertight at the back.
An early goal could spark the game, even if conditions are going to be wet in Leeds on Saturday.
However, a bit of rain is not expected to impact the qualities that both teams can exert on the fixture and it is not going to be hugely windy. This should help Leeds United and Fulham and a 2-1 winner either way looks the likely outcome of this fixture.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Leeds United 2-1 Fulham
