Fulham - Arsenal predictions and free betting tips [31/12/2023]

Today as part of the 20th round of the EPL, Fulham will host Arsenal on their home turf. Last week, the Gunners shockingly lost to West Ham at home and lost their grip on the tournament table lead, whereas the Cottagers were drastically defeated by Bournemouth and suffered their third consecutive loss in the championship.

Predicted Lineups

Fulham: Leno; Tete, Adarabioyo, Bassi, Robinson; Palhinha, Reid; Decordova-Reid, Pereyra, Iwobi; Jimenez.
Arsenal: Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Edegor, Rice, Havertz; Saka, Jesus, Martinelli.

Stadium

The match will take place in London at the Craven Cottage Stadium.

Fulham

Fulham is currently in the middle of the rankings in the Premier League and, essentially, isn't vying for anything this season. The London team is in 13th place and has a comfortable six-point lead over the relegation area. Nonetheless, the Cottagers have lost momentum in recent weeks, suffering three consecutive losses in the Premier League. After getting routed by Newcastle (3:0), they lost at home to Burnley (0:2) and suffered another crushing loss midweek to Bournemouth (3:0). Justin Kluivert opened the scoring towards end of the first half, and after the break Dominic Solanke and Luis Sinisterra each scored a goal. Only Luton Town (11), Burnley (14), and Sheffield United (14), all in the relegation zone, have lost more games in this EPL season than Fulham (10). 

Anyway, Fulham have amassed 15 of their 21 points at Craven Cottage. The Cottagers cannot count on Spanish winger Adama Traore. Additionally, lead striker Raul Jimenez (4 goals) will serve his third and final suspension, to be replaced by Rodrigo Muniz. On the other hand, team Captain Ream and the club's other top goal-scorer Willian (4 goals) are ready to take the field. This also applies to playmaker Andreas Pereyra (1 goal and 5 assists), wingers Wilson (2 goals and 3 assists) and Iwobi (3 goals). Overall, Marco Silva is unlikely to make many roster changes to the starting lineup, although Harrison Reid may replace Tom Cairney on the substitute bench.

Arsenal

Arsenal were running for the championship title last season and are again vying for the Premier League crown this year. Despite recent unfortunate results, the Gunners are in 2nd place in the standings, two points behind Liverpool. After losing 1:0 to Aston Villa, Mikel Arteta's men quickly made amends in front of home fans, defeating Brighton 2:0. Then, Arsenal drew with Liverpool (1:1), but on Thursday evening suffered a defeat from West Ham (0:2), despite dominating in all aspects. Goals by Tomas Soucek and Konstantinos Mavropanos helped David Moyes to secure his first coaching victory over the Gunners, while David Raya saved a penalty from Said Benrahma in the closing stages. 

Since the 2008-09 season, no Premier League team has had more touches in the penalty area in a single match without scoring than Arteta's men (77) against West Ham. Timber, Tomiyasu and Partey, as well as substitutes Fabio Vieira and Elneny will not participate in the Saturday's match at Craven Cottage due to injuries. Kai Havertz was suspended against West Ham this week, but  will rejoin the Gunners strike force. Mikel Arteta can also rely on Brazilian forward Gabriel Jesus (3 goals), who will be joined by wingers Saka (5 goals and 6 assists) and Martinelli (2 goals and 2 assists). Midfield will see Declan Rice and Martin Edegor, while Leandro Trossard will strengthen the game in the second half.

Head-to-Head

The Cottagers have not won any of their last 11 clashes with Arsenal and have lost all seven of their recent home games against the London team. The first leg ended in a 2:2 draw at the Emirates.

Match prediction: Fulham - Arsenal

Despite recent poor form, Arsenal still stands a chance of pleasing their fans with an away win in the derby. The fact is, Fulham is in a slump and has lost three straight matches. In addition, Kai Havertz has returned from his suspension meaning the Gunners can count on their best formation. My prediction is a victory for Arsenal.

Prediction for Total

In the three previous head-to-head meetings, both teams regularly made over 2.5 total goals. Of course, the Cottagers will concede at least a couple of goals – but they too are more than capable of scoring. I see an upward trend here.