English Premier
2026-05-09 - Fulham vs Bournemouth
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Saturday 9th May 2026 - Kick Off 3pm
Fulham
When you think that Fulham are in a position to challenge for a top six finish and the potential of that being a Champions League position, the performance at the Emirates Stadium last weekend was a little embarrassing. They were 3-0 down at half time and failed to put any pressure on an opponent in the middle of a Champions League Semi Final tie and you have to believe Marco Silva will be looking for a big reaction.
His own future may remain cloudy, but Marco Silva will task his 11th placed Fulham team to make a serious dent in the 4 point gap to 6th placed Bournemouth when hosting The Cherries. Any European Football at Craven Cottage next season would be seen as a successful campaign and it is the 10-2-5 record here that has given Fulham an opportunity to return to that stage.
Fulham have won 1 of the 4 Premier League games played since the March international break and they have lost at both Liverpool and Arsenal in that time. The sole fixture at Craven Cottage in that run ended in a 1-0 victory over Aston Villa and Fulham have won 6 of the last 9 here in all competitions. However, the 3 outstanding results have all been defeats.
Emile Smith Rowe and Sander Berge are expected to be available, but Ryan Sessegnon, Kevin and Alex Iwobi will be pushing to play before the end of the campaign.
Bournemouth
They have already played one big part in the Premier League title race and Bournemouth may yet play another before all is said and done, although Andoni Iraola's sole focus is making sure the team finish with a flourish. Depending on Aston Villa's Europa League Semi Final Second Leg result, there may yet be a chance for 6th place to earn a spot in the Champions League and it is Bournemouth who have moved into that position.
They were able to slip past Brighton last weekend following a convincing win over Crystal Palace at the Vitality Stadium and The Cherries are now a point ahead of Brentford that 6th place. Only three games remain and that makes it hard to believe Bournemouth can close the 6 point gap between themselves and both Liverpool and Aston Villa in the Champions League spots in the Division.
Bournemouth were able to extend the unbeaten run to 16 games in all competitions in normal time following the comfortable win over Crystal Palace, but more important is that they have won 3 of the last 4 Premier League games played. Draws have been slowing Bournemouth's progress, but the side have won 4 of the last 6 away Premier League games, including consecutive 1-2 wins at Arsenal and Newcastle United.
The squad that was available last weekend is set to travel to West London for this fixture.
Head to Head
They may have conceded the first goal in the 70th minute when hosting Fulham earlier this season, but Bournemouth still managed to secure a 3-1 win at the Vitality Stadium.
Fulham are unbeaten in 4 when hosting Bournemouth, but 3 have ended in draws.
Prediction
Both of these clubs are expected to be making managerial changes in the summer, although Bournemouth are ahead of the curve in actually making it all official.
Andoni Iraola will be replaced by Marco Rose, but the players have not allowed that to distract them as they continue to push Bournemouth forward and edge closer to a first European experience.
On the other side, Fulham are in a position to return to European Football, but the cloudiness of Marco Silva's situation has perhaps been something that the players have been unable to shake from the minds.
They were incredibly poor at Arsenal last Saturday and allowed the Premier League leaders to have a really easy night in the office, which would have frustrated Marco Silva.
Injuries have not helped, but Fulham looked like a team that were thinking about their holidays, rather than trying to push into the top six themselves and potentially earn the right to host the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona or Bayern Munich next season.
Fulham have been better at home so have to be given a lot of respect- they are also unbeaten in 4 when hosting Bournemouth.
However, it is the visiting team who come into this one in much stronger form.
You cannot rule out a draw with that being the outcome of 3 of the last 4 between the clubs at Craven Cottage and Bournemouth being the clear draw specialists in the Premier League with 16 from the 35 League games played.
In recent weeks they have begun to turn a few more of those into wins though and Bournemouth have won 4 of the last 6 away Premier League games played. Defensively they can be vulnerable, but Bournemouth will get forward and create chances and Fulham are going to need to be a lot sharper than we have seen since the March international break if they are going to slow the momentum The Cherries have put into this second half of the campaign.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Fulham 1-2 Bournemouth
