Football
EPL Fulham vs Southampton Preview: Tips, Odds, and Prediction
With excitement building and anticipation growing ahead of kickoff, Premier League betting fans are already diving into the odds and assessing both teams, hoping to find the best value. For a detailed, in-depth look at the match, be sure to check out our full preview. Marco Silva’s Fulham FC welcomes Southampton FC to Craven Cottage just a couple of days before Christmas.
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Che Adams and Fulhams Tim//Getty Images
At the time of writing, Fulham have only lost once in their last six, with the likes of league leaders Liverpool and London giants Arsenal and Spurs unable to defeat The Cottagers, who are sat high up in the table in eighth place, just four points off a Champions League position.
It’s a very different story for the newly promoted visitors, Southampton, who are rock bottom and managerless.
These two teams have played against each other 79 times, so this will be their 80th meeting. Southampton have edged their rivalry with 30 victories to 24. In their last five meetings, it’s been completely even with two wins each and one draw.
However, the landscape is very different in this fixture with the West London hosts 12 positions and 19 points above the visitors. But it’s not a full gone conclusion, with Russell Martin’s recent departure, the players will all be looking to impress their interim boss, Simon Rusk.
The Saints could have a new spark to inspire them to victory, but to beat Fulham away from home may take a Christmas miracle.
Pre-Game Odds and Win Probability: Fulham Clear Favourites
Home: 11/25 (1.44) – 69,4%
Draw: 39/10 (4.90) – 20,4%
Away: 28/5 (6.60) – 15,2%
*Odds courtesy of Betway, subject to change*
Head-to-Head Record
Last Five Meetings
13/05/23: Southampton 0-2 Fulham
31/12/22: Fulham 2-1 Southampton
15/05/21: Southampton 3-1 Fulham
26/12/20: Fulham 0-0 Southampton
27/08/19: Fulham 0-1 Southampton
Fulham: Current Form – DDWDLW
Recent wins over Crystal Palace and Brighton have been highly impressive, but so too has their trio of draws with Liverpool (2-2), Arsenal (1-1) and Spurs (1-1).
From the 24 points collected, at the time of writing, they have picked up 14 at home and claimed 10 away, so they have shown consistency despite where they are playing.
On November 23, their 4-1 drubbing at home to Wolves was very surprising, considering they kept a clean sheet away to Crystal Palace in the game before that. They have only kept two clean sheets and conceded 22 goals, which is the 10th-worst record in the league.
Even though it’s all very positive for The Cottagers right now, it could be so much better. They have dropped 17 points from leading positions, which would have put them six points clear at the top of the table.
So far, it’s the club's second-best points return from their first 16 games in the Premier League, and a win over Southampton could make it their best-ever haul from their first 17, so just another three points is all that’s needed to make it their best start to any EPL campaign ever.
Key Players To Watch
- Alex Iwobi – Alex Iwobi has scored five goals, with three assists, making him Fulham’s most creative and dangerous player so far this season.
- Raul Jimenez – Striker Raul Jiminez is just behind Iwobi, with five Premier League goals and two assists, but he has a total of six goals in all competitions this season, making him the top scorer.
- Sam Morsy – Club captain Sam Morsy has played over 135 games for Fulham since signing in August 2021. He missed just four matches last season, due to suspension and not selection. The team leader was voted the PFA Fans’ Championship Player of the Year as well as the club’s Men’s Player of the Year 2023-4
Fulham Team News
There are rumours circulating that Fulham’s striker Adama Traore could be on the move with several foreign clubs keeping close tabs on him.
Fulham, along with Aston Villa, are targeting Romano Schmid from Werder Breman, who only has a £10 million price tag.
Southampton: Current Form – LLLDLL
At the time of writing, Southampton have scored just 11 goals this season and conceded 36, that’s an average of 0.68 for and 2.25 against.
Just one win all season has been a dire start, and The Saints appear to be doomed for the drop. It would take a miracle to turn their fate around, but it’s still doable. However, losses to relegation rivals, Wolves and Leicester, also Everton, and a 1-1 draw with Ipswich show that they cannot beat any of the teams surrounding them.
In fact, their current ranking is the theme across the board for their entire season so far. They are ranked 20th in the league for goals scored (11), shots on target (48), chances (114), Ball recoveries (671), errors leading to shots (27), and errors leading to goals (11).
Unless new boss Simon Rusk can work some Christmas magic to take them into the New Year with, then it doesn’t look good for The Saints, unfortunately.
Key Players To Watch
- Adam Armstrong – Striker Adam Armstrong signed for The Saints in August 2021 for a reported fee of £15 million. A product of Newcastle’s academy, joining his boyhood club at the age of nine, and became their second youngest player to play in the Premier League, aged 17, after Kazenga LuaLua. Armstrong has scored two goals in 13 games this season, making him joint top with Cameron Archer and Joe Aribo.
- Ben Brereton – Brereton Diaz started in the youth set-up at Manchester United at seven up to the age of 14. The Chilean international has already scored a goal for The Saints since joining the club in July this year and currently has six Premier League goals in 24 performances.
- Taylor Harwood-Bellis – The 22-year-old centre-back started his senior career at Manchester City, but never played a match for them, Instead, he was loaned out to four different teams before Southampton signed him this season after a loan spell last season where he played in 40 games.
Southampton Team News
On Monday, December 16, the inevitable news broke of Russell Martin’s sacking. A 5-0 annihilation at the hands of Spurs put the final nail into the coffin.
Under-21s coach, Simon Rusk, has stepped up into the caretaker role, but it’s Sheffield Wednesday boss, Danny Rohl, who is currently the favourite to take over the reins.
Predicted Line-Ups
Fulham: 4-2-3-1
Leno; Tete, Diop, Cuenca, Robinson; Berge, Lukic; Iwobi, Pereira, Wilson; Jimenez.
Southampton: 4-3-1-2
McCarthy; Walker-Peters, Harwood-Bellis, Bednarek, Manning; Aribo, Downes, Fernandes; Dibling; Armstrong, Sulemana.
Suggested Bets
If you love betting on football, here are some bets you can place at some of the popular sportsbooks.
Both Teams to Score (No): Just one team to score could be worth a punt. (27/25 with Betway) (1/1 with 1Win)
Correct Score: The odds for Fulham to win 3-0 looks attractive. (11/1 with Betway) (10/1 with 1Win)
Bet Builder: Fulham to Win, Over 2.5 Goals & Jimenez Anytime Scorer: Fulham are favourites and expected to be dominant at home, so this bet could be worth a try. (9/5 with 1Win)
Value Bets
Raul Jiminez – To Score 2 or More Goals: As the club’s leading scorer, playing against the bottom of the league, who are prone to making errors, Jiminez to score two is worth a punt. (11/2 with Betway)
Alex Iwobi – Anytime Goalscorer: Joint top EPL scorer for Fulham, he could score anytime in the match. (13/5 with 1Win)
First Team to Score – Fulham: Fulham’s recent form and attacking style of play could potentially see them net first. (3/10 with 1Win)
Prediction: Fulham to Win
Fulham are riding high; they have the form, momentum, home advantage, whereas Southampton currently don’t share any of those same positives heading into this festive fixture.
A new leadership could inspire confidence and a competition for places at St. Marys, but to turn around the season they have had so far will take a miracle.
Southampton have conceded in all of their last six games, a total of 17 goals, averaging almost three per game.
Therefore, we predict Fulham to win 3-0 at home.
Tim has over 27 years experience within the sports industry, working for football clubs Arsenal FC and Millwall FC, and boxing news websites British Boxing News, Boxing Social and Global Boxing News. His boxing articles have been published in Boxing News Magazine, national newspapers, plus many other major news outlets.
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