Previous
Betting Update; Fulham v Aston Villa with the bookmakers making Aston Villa their 9/7 favourite
Added: (Fri Feb 01 2008)
Of all the transfers completed in the final few days before the transfer window shut, Fulham’s capture of Jari Litmanen was one of the most uninspiring. The Finland international captain was among Europe’s finest footballers during his peak at Ajax in the 1990s but as he turns 37 next month he is a perplexing choice to lift The Cottagers out of the relegation zone.
Roy Hodgson knows Litmanen well, having managed Finland during their impressive but ultimately unsuccessful Euro 2008 qualifying campaign. However, Litmanen’s last appearance in one of Europe’s five major leagues was in 2005, when he played 13 games and scored one goal for German side Hansa Rostock. Since then he has managed just 10 appearances during an injury-ravaged spell at Swedish side Malmo and barely played first-team football for six months.
But service to the Fulham strikers has been clearly lacking in recent games, and Hodgson must feel that Litmanen’s guile will improve the team’s chances of unpicking opposing defences. Fulham need their new signing to hit the ground running because they have a poor home record and face a stiff challenge here against one of the top flight’s best away sides.
Fulham’s figures at Craven Cottage are W2-D5-L5, with two draws and three losses in their last five outings. Their last two defeats came against Big Four opposition (2-1 v Chelsea and 3-0 v Arsenal) but only one win since the opening day of the season, 3-1 over Reading, explains why they lie 19th in the table. Aston Villa are unbeaten in nine fixtures on the road, going W4-D5-L0 in those games. And the results have not only come against weaker sides, either – they’ve beaten Blackburn (4-0) and drawn at Tottenham (4-4), Chelsea (4-4) and Liverpool (2-2) so a trip to Craven Cottage will hold no fears for Martin O’Neill’s players.
Villa’s record away to sides that are currently lower than them in the table is an impressive W4-D4-L0, again indicating the visitors will avoid defeat. And the head-t-head stats strongly favour Villa – they are unbeaten in 10 meetings against Fulham and have a record of W7-D6-L1 in the Premier League. Four of the five games at Craven Cottage have ended in draws, with the other match that sole Fulham victory (2-1) in February 2003.
The draw cannot be ruled out as it shows up strongly on the stats so for that reason it would be safer to back Aston Villa on the Asian handicap to limit your losses should the game finish in a stalemate. Over 2.5 goals is also a consideration. Fulham have kept just one clean sheet in 12 home matches – and that came against Derby – with eight of those 12 matches having over 2.5 goals. Villa have netted at least once in their last nine fixtures on the road and seven of those nine matches have had over 2.5 goals. Given those stats, the price of evens is worth taking.
Recommended Bets - 1pt Aston Villa -0.25-goal start on the Asian handicap evens
Recommended Bets - 1pt over 2.5 goals evens
• All prices correct at time of writing.
ABOUT EASYODDS.COM
easyodds.com is a comprehensive sport betting service that helps you find the BEST ODDS on offer from leading bookmakers, betting exchanges and spread betting firms and then helps you place your bet at the BestPrice.
FREE to register!
www.easyodds.com
Andrew Newton
Managing Editor
020 7691 0660