Fulham's midweek Europa League victory will see the Cottagers through to the knockout stages. Although they had many players out with injuries, Fulham was able to play an athletic game in which
Bobby Zamora recorded a brace. This will certainly put Roy
Hodgson's side in high spirits before their tough weekend matchup against
Manchester United. Fulham are 5-1-2 at home and have scored 1.5 goals average while only conceding 0.75. The only injuries that Hodgson is dealing with are that of Andy Johnson, Diomansy Kamara and Simon Davies. The last time these teams met at Craven Cottage, Fulham stunned the title holders with a decisive 2-0 victory. The Cottagers would like to repeat this performance but no one would complain if they were able to get even a point this Saturday.
The stunning goal created by
Dimitar Berbetov and
Luis Valencia was the cream of the crop this past weekend. Both the assist and finish were a beautiful indication that the Red Devils are ready to make a run at another title. After a 1-0 loss to Aston Villa the weekend before, Sir Alex knew he had to make up for lost points in the coming weeks. They will face a tougher task at Craven Cottage however, and the memory of last season's 2-0 defeat will motivate the returning players to exact revenge. This will not be easy as both Nemanja Vidic and Wes Brown are the latest additions to the already formidable list of defensive injuries.
Michael Carrick will again start at centre-back and Sir Alex will likely field a full-strength midfield and striker pairing to make up for his defensive weaknesses.
Although United won their match against
Wolverhampton last week, Mick McCarthy had only fielded his 2nd string squad. After their high scoring defeat of
FC Basel in the Europa league on Wednesday, Fulham will be soaring with confidence and want to repeat last season's home win against the Red Devils.
Fulham F.C. vs Manchester United
Saturday December 19, 2009
Kickoff: 16:00 CET
Venue: Craven Cottage (London)
Tip: Fulham +1 (Asian Handicap)
Best Odds: 1.98 @ Bet365
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