Southampton vs Fulham Odds: Saints look to carry on their impressive form with a win against a confident Fulham side
Southampton are labelled as 4/9 favourites to defeat Fulham in a contest which pits two very confident sides against each other after good results last weekend.
Southampton has been the surprise package of the season so far and they will hope to carry on their good form with a win against a Fulham side who looked mightily impressive on Monday night.
The Saints have only lost once so far this season and this good form has seen them rise to 7th in the table and establish a four point gap back to defending champions Manchester United.
Southampton  |
8/13 |
Draw  |
16/5 |
| Fulham |
6/1 |
Mauricio Pocchetino’s side could also be boosted by the return of creative Uruguayan midfielder Gaston Ramirez who missed the 1-1 draw at Old Trafford with an injury last weekend.
Ramirez is almost certainly going to be a direct replacement for Steven Davis as the Northern Irishman picked up a slight knock in the game last weekend and is a major doubt for Saturday’s game.
Southampton’s defensive record is by far the best in the league having only conceded 3 times and is currently the seventh best defensive start to any Premier League team in its 21 year history.
Fulham are very much brimming in confidence following their 4-1 demolition of Crystal Palace on Monday night and this has helped climb to 13th in the table and just a point away from advancing into the top half of the table.
Martin Jol’s side will be without club captain Brede Hangeland as the big Norwegian defender is nursing a nerve injury sustained earlier this week.
His absence could well be the opportunity that Aaron Hughes needs to return to the starting lineup since August as he has now recovered from a serious thigh problem.
Aside from that, Fulham will also be without Matthew Briggs and Bryan Ruiz who are still on the injured list and won’t be available until next week at the earliest.
Fulham will be eager to pick up a win on the South Coast as it will mark the first time The Cottagers have won three straight games in a row in 18 months.
With both sides in good form, Saturday’s clash could go either way however Southampton’s better defensive record could put them in contention to picking up another three points and climbing further up into the upper echelons of the Premier League table.
