Fulham vs Southampton Prediction

Fulham and coach Marco Silva will look to continue their remarkable run of form this Sunday when they take on relegation destined Southampton.

The Cottagers have strung together some impressive form amid a challenging festive fixture list, avoiding defeat against Tottenham, Arsenal and Liverpool, as well as picking up all three points against high-flying Brighton.

Southampton, now without Russell Martin at the helm, pushed Liverpool close in the Carabao Cup quarter final in midweek, and made a good impression under interim manager Simon Rusk, but still remain winless since the beginning of November. Nine points behind 17th placed Liecester, Southampton need to get their act together, and quickly.

As the game approaches, here is everything you need to know about both sides ahead of kick-off.

Key Statistics

• While Fulham sit in 8th, they sit just three points behind fifth placed Manchester City, putting them well and truly in the race for Europe.
• Fulham winger Alex Iwobi has already equalled his best ever scoring season in the Premier League, netting 5 goals in 16 games.
• Southampton have failed to keep a clean sheet since their 2-0 win over Everton in November, conceding 19 in that time.
• However, they do have a winning head to head record with Fulham, winning six and drawing 3 of their 12 meetings since 2012.

Fulham Preview

Fulham Predicted Lineup (4-2-3-1): Bernd Leno (GK); Antonee Robinson, Jorge Cuenca, Issa Diop, Timothy Castagne; Sasa Lukic, Sander Berge; Alex Iwobi, Emile Smith-Rowe, Adama Traore; Raul Jimenez.

Marco Silva has slowly crafted Fulham into something of a dark horse. Able to pull off a shock against anyone on their day, they are a well organised unit capable of either sitting back and countering, as well as getting on the ball and dictating play.

It shouldn’t be a surprise they are doing well either, as the talent in the squad runs deep. Emile Smith Rowe, Adama Traore, Alex Iwobi, Antonee Robinson and a host of others have specific traits that make them invaluable to the squad, and when they are all in form, they are very hard to stop.

They do have a couple of absences to deal with, including Andreas Pereira through suspension, Reiss Nelson to a hamstring injury, and Joachim Anderson to a calf strain, but with the quality depth in the squad, they shouldn’t struggle to put out an XI that can brush Southampton aside.

Southampton Preview

Southampton Predicted Lineup (3-5-2): Alex McCarthy (GK); Jan Bednarek, Nathan Wood, Taylor Harwood-Bellis; Ryan Manning, Mateus Fernandes, Fynn Downes, Adam Lallana, Tyler Dibling; Cameron Archer, Ben Brereton-Diaz.

The dark cloud that hangs over Southampton these days seems to grow a darker shade of black with each passing week. With one league win and just three this season in all comps, Southampton are making a serious case for the argument that newly promoted clubs simply can’t compete in the top division.

Presented with an in-form Fulham side, Southampton’s luck shows now sign of turning, and if they can’t improve their form, they are staring unwanted Premier League history in the face.

Derby County got demoted in the 2007/08 season with a haul of 11 points, a tally that has stood as the lowest total ever accumulated in the Premier League era. As of the second week of December, Derby had six points. For context, Southampton have five. If they want to avoid writing their name into a somewhat humiliating history book, results need to improve, starting this weekend.

Fulham vs Southampton Head to Head

Last five meetings:

• 13/05/2023: Southampton 0-2 Fulham.
• 31/12/2022: Fulham 2-1 Southampton.
• 15/05/2021: Southampton 3-1 Fulham.
• 26/12/2020: Fulham 0-0 Southampton.
• 27/08/2019: Fulham 0-1 Southampton.

Fulham vs Southampton Betting Tip

Unfortunately, there are no obvious signs pointing to a rapid turnaround in form for Southampton, which is why we are confident in backing Fulham to pick up a straightforward win here.

Fulham vs Southampton Final Prediction

Fulham 3-1 Southampton

Fulham will dominate from start to finish as Southampton look to adapt to Rusk’s different approach, and while the Saint’s will threaten at times, they won’t create anywhere near enough to get a result.