PREMIER LEAGUE analyst Daniel McCulloch (@DMcCulloch1984) takes a look at Super Sunday's showdown between West London rivals Fulham and Chelsea.
Fulham v Chelsea | Sunday 3rd March 2019, 14:05 | BT Sport
Scott Parker will be in the Fulham hot-seat for this West London derby, after Claudio Ranieri tenure came to an end after barely three month. The Cottagers may be propped up by Huddersfield but it’s hard not to argue that they have been the league’s biggest disappointment.
Having performed so well in the second half of the Championship season to secure promotion, possessing so many young, talented footballers and spending £100m in the summer transfer window, much was expected of Fulham this season.
Sadly for them it looks very much like an immediate return to the Championship and I do not see the league table looking any prettier for them come Sunday evening.
Chelsea have been almost as disappointing as their neighbours, with their bright start to the season a distance memory now. This calendar year they have scored in just three of their seven league games and managed just 10 points across those fixtures.
As a neutral I have rarely enjoyed watching them as Eden Hazard aside they look so pedestrian. Still, they should have enough to overcome Fulham on Sunday afternoon.
The betting angles
In 10 away games against sides from seventh down, Chelsea have won seven of them and given that all the stats suggest Fulham are one of the worst sides in the division, I don’t think 8/15 on an away victory is too skinny. It is, however, too short for an outright tip.
Instead, I will recommend a Chelsea win and Under 4.5 Goals, which is available at 10/11 with Ladbrokes. All Chelsea away matches against sides outside the top six have featured four goals or fewer and given that they’ve won seven of those matches, I think we are on to a good thing.
Fulham have been beaten in all nine encounters against the Big Six this season, with six of these seeing four goals or fewer.
At a bigger price, I also like the look of Chelsea to win by a single goal at 11/4 (SkyBet). With new boss Parker in charge, I expect Fulham to try to keep it tight and while that has clearly not worked too well this season, Chelsea’s issues in front of goal lead me to feel its good value. It’s also worth noting that four of their 10 games away to sides from seventh down have been won in this manner.
Best Bets
Fulham v Chelsea – Chelsea to win and Under 4.5 Goals (10/11 Ladbrokes)
Fulham v Chelsea – Chelsea to win by exact;y single goal (11/4 SkyBet)
