Fulham v Liverpool Preview
Liverpool go into Monday night’s visit to Fulham in seventh place in the Premier League, while their London hosts are still just a couple of points ahead of the relegation places. Liverpool go into the game unbeaten in 11 while Fulham haven’t won in their last 4 outings and picked up just 2 points from their last 3 Premier League games.
Fulham have won just 2 Premier League games so far this season – as bad a record as the likes of Wigan and Blackburn. Their only home win this season was a 6-0 hammering of QPR at the start of October and they lost their last 2 home games by 3-1 score lines. Fulham lost in midweek to Twente in the Europa League and the late decider in that game leaves the Cottagers’ qualification up in the air.
Liverpool won 5-2 the last time the sides met at Craven Cottage, also a Monday night game at the tail end of last season and Maxi Rodriguez scored a hat trick. He scored again in midweek as Liverpool saw off Chelsea in the League Cup.
Liverpool can equal a club record if they win on Monday night. They go into the game having won their last 6 games away from home – 3 in the league
Team News
The big news from the week was the loss of Lucas Leiva for Liverpool. A cruciate ligament injury rules him out for at least the rest of this season. Steven Gerrard also remains out, limiting their midfield options.
Damien Duff could miss out for Fulham after yet another recurrence of a calf injury in midweek. Mousa Dembele is likely to shake off an injury to be available as is Clint Dempsey. Bryan Ruiz is also set to be available again.
Prediction
Based on stats alone it’s hard to see Fulham winning here. However, injury problems have definitely weakened Liverpool’s midfield and this could be key on Monday night – away from home. A draw might not be the worst result in the world for either side and they both may settle for that.
Over / Under 2.5 Goals
This is a meeting of the 2 teams with the highest tendency to produce games under 2.5 goals. From 13 Premier League games, 9 of Liverpool’s and 8 of Fulham’s games have seen less than 3 goals. Don’t be surprised if it’s the same again on Monday with a 1-1 draw a strong possibility.