Manchester City vs Fulham
This is a meeting between the Premier League champions and last season’s Championship winners.
On paper, it is a home banker – especially when you consider that Manchester City have won the past nine league meetings against Fulham and scored 15 goals without reply in the last five of those clashes.
Furthermore, the way they dispatched Leicester City last weekend showed once again that they have the character to match their class and remain the team to beat.
Yet from the moment this season kicked off, Fulham have been making their mark in the top-flight, creating their own Premier League 2022 highlights and proving many of the doubters wrong.
After already taking two points off last season’s runners-up, surely they can’t do so again against the country’s top team?
Talking Points
With the World Cup now on the horizon, this is the start of a vital period for clubs before the six-week break.
City will start as overwhelming favourites, regardless of whether runaway top scorer Erling Haaland is deemed fit enough to play.
The Norwegian striker has missed the last two games with ankle ligament damage and will be assessed. Definitely missing though are England duo Kyle Walker and Kalvin Phillips who continue to recover from respective groin and shoulder surgeries and still harbour World Cup hopes.
Pep Guardiola’s men are currently in the midst of an impressive 14-game winning streak on home soil in all competitions – scoring at least three goals in all but one of those fixtures – and are unbeaten in their last 18 matches at the Etihad since a 3-2 defeat against Spurs in February.
They have also already scored 10 goals at home against the other two newly-promoted teams this season, beating Bournemouth 4-0 and Nottingham Forest 6-0 in August, as Fulham will be aware.
Their manager Marco Silva will have to make at least two changes as makeshift right-back Bobby Decordova-Reid is suspended due to an accumulation of yellow cards, while Neeskens Kebano has been ruled out for several months with a ruptured Achilles.
If the Cottagers are looking for omens, perhaps they can take comfort from the fact three of their four Premier League victories against City have come at the Etihad Stadium – most recently a 3-1 win in April 2009.
At the end of the day, however, Fulham have already accumulated more points this season (19) after 13 games than they managed at this stage of the 2018-19 (8) and 2020-21 (9) campaigns combined.
That means anything at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday will be an unexpected bonus.
History
It’s more than a decade since Fulham beat City – a 3-1 Premier League win at the Etihad in April 2009 when Clint Dempsey (two) and Dickson Etuhu (a former City youth player) were on target and City had Robinho and Daniel Sturridge among their substitutes.
You have to go back to September 2011 for the last time Fulham took points off City – a 2-2 draw at Craven Cottage where the hosts fought back from two goals down from Bobby Zamora and an own goal after Sergio Aguero had netted twice.
The last 12 matches have all been City victories, including in the fourth round of the FA Cup last term when Ilkay Gundogan, John Stones and Riyad Mahrez (two, one penalty) were on target in a 4-1 win.
In the corresponding league fixture two seasons ago, City ran out 2-0 winners thanks to goals from Raheem Sterling and a Kevin De Bruyne penalty.
They then won the return at Craven Cottage 3-0 when Stones, Gabriel Jesus, and Aguero scored three times without reply in 15 second half minutes.
Overall, City have 37 wins in this fixture compared to 16 draws and 17 Fulham successes.
Betting Tip
With or without Haaland, how can you not back City? The SBOTOP Premier League 2022 betting odds duly concur.
Try City 1X2 @ 1.12 for example (the lowest I’ve ever known) compared to Fulham @ 18.00.
So few people expect a draw, even that will pay out @ 8.25.
Asian Handicap options include City -2.75 @ 2.21 and Fulham +2.25 @ 2.21.
A goalless draw is not really anticipated judging by odds of total goal 0-1 @ 8.00, over 4.00 goals @ 2.13 and Correct Score 0-0 @ 38.00.
Can Fulham come away from the Etihad with anything?
It’s a big ask which is why I am going, unusually, for a repeat of their last league meeting two seasons ago.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR (⭐) BETS ARE WORTH:
⭐⭐⭐= €20 (HIGHLY CONFIDENT)
⭐⭐= €10 (CONFIDENT))
⭐= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT)
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
●●●
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS
Stay updated with everything sports and betting.
Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
