There were not many people who believed
Fulham FC could make it to the quarterfinals of the UEFA Europa League, but the Cottager's recent performance against Serie A giants
Juventus silenced any doubters. Manager Roy
Hodgson is virtually guaranteed survival in the Premiership and will now set his sights on the second most important trophy in Europe. The Cottagers have recently experienced a downturn in form both in the Premiership and the FA Cup. Fulham have lost their last 3 matches in the Premier League, most recently was a 2-0 shutout by relegation favored Hull City. Last Wednesday's 3-1 loss to Tottenham saw them out of the quarterfinals of the FA Cup and Hodgson will need to pull his squad together if they are to survive the Quarterfinals of the Europa League. Fulham have a strong home record and will look to make a serious impact on goal difference in this first leg of their tie.
After a tough start to the 2009/2010 campaign, title holders
Wolfsburg fired their previous manager and subsequently experienced a resurgence in form. They have won 5 of their last 6 league games but just barely squeezed past
Rubin Kazan in the last round of the Europa League. It took Christian Gentner to find the net in the 119' of extra time to secure their spot in the Quarterfinals. Wolfsburg are now 9th in the Bundesliga and with the title far from their reach they will put all of their effort toward winning silverware in Europe. So far they have gone 0-2-0 while on the road in this competition, so expect manager Lorenz-Gunther Kostner to adopt a semi-defensive formation in hopes of a favorable result for the return leg.
Fulham showed they have the class to rise to the occasion against Juventus, but have only won once in their past 9 matches.
Wolfsburg have begun to build momentum in the Bundesliga and will carry that confidence with them as they travel to
Craven Cottage.
Fulham FC vs VFL Wolfsburg
Thursday 1 April, 2010
Kickoff: 9:05 PM (CET)
Venue: Craven Cottage (London)
Tip: Fulham
-0.25 (Asian Handicap)
Best Odds: 1.95 @ Bet365
