Well-drilled Whites to effectively seal Cardiff’s fate with win
Published:If there was such a thing as a ‘nine-pointer’ then this match between Cardiff and Fulham is it. The Premier League’s bottom two do battle in Wales and we predict Fulham’s vastly experienced boss will just get the better of his younger counterpart.
Ole-Gunnar Solskjaer may have forged his reputation in English football as a deadly finisher, but his transition to the dug-outs looks like finishing him as a Premier League manager at this rate.
Six defeats and only one win from his eight league games in charge of Cardiff have seen the Bluebirds plummet and now the only team still below them are set to leapfrog them too.
Cardiff’s home form was supposed to be their saviour; it hasn’t been. The 4-0 drubbing at the hands of fellow promoted side Hull on their last appearance, was an unwelcome barometer in their struggles to survive.
This won’t be lost on Fulham, whose price of 21/10 to come away with a massive three points, feels much more attractive than the 5/4 on the home win, now that Felix Magath is in charge.
Although, Fulham’s haplessness home or away is enough to rival Cardiff in every sense, the Cottagers new manager may just be the man to oversee the great escape, especially if he’s finally ready to call on record signing Kostas Mitroglou.
Under the greatly experienced German disciplinarian, Fulham put up an admirable fight against Chelsea without the Greek international, matching the league leaders in the first 45 and were unlucky to lose captain Brede Hangerland to injury too.
Given the stakes this match is likely to be grittiness personified, with Magath’s reputation for organisation the key against a Cardiff outfit who have failed to score in five of their last six top-flight matches.
The 4/1 about a one-goal margin of victory for Fulham looks like an avenue worth exploring, while 7/1 on Mitroglou breaking the deadlock (should he start) seems generous also.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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