MY ACCOUNT
– Fulham have won each of their four away matches against teams in the bottom five
– Southampton have lost six of their last seven fixtures
– Recommended bet: Fulham draw no bet
Southampton have looked relegation bound for several weeks and their fate will be confirmed if they fail to defeat Fulham at St Mary’s.
Ruben Selles’ side suffered another hammer blow on Monday when losing 4-3 away to relegation rivals Nottingham Forest and they approach the last three games eight points adrift of safety.
As a newly-promoted side Fulham might have expected to be involved in a relegation scrap, but they have been in the top half since October and look highly likely to remain there.
Marco Silva’s men do not have much to play for, but showed plenty of desire when winning 5-3 at home to Leicester City on Monday.
Team news
Valentino Livramento has been edging closer to full fitness and might make the Saints squad, but Mohamed Salisu (groin), Romain Perraud (ankle) and Juan Larios (thigh) remain unavailable.
Meanwhile, Armel Bella-Kotchap was withdrawn due to a hamstring strain during Monday’s 4-3 loss at Nottingham Forest.
Aleksandar Mitrovic is available again for the Cottagers after completing an eight-match ban and will challenge Carlos Vinicius for the central striker’s role.
Andreas Pereira (ankle) and Tim Ream (broken arm) will miss the rest of the season, while Daniel James (thigh) and Layvin Kurzawa (knee) remain sidelined.
The stats
Southampton need to register three successive Premier League victories to have any hope of survival, but they haven’t achieved that feat since November 2020.
The Saints have failed to win any of their last ten matches and have gone nine games since keeping a clean sheet.
Fulham have registered six away wins this season and four of them have come against teams in the bottom five.
The Cottagers have not kept a clean sheet in their last 11 games.
Prediction
Fulham have coped reasonably well during Mitrovic’s eight-match absence, but they are stronger with the Serb striker in their squad and should have too much firepower for Southampton at St Mary’s.
The match is a must-win for Saints, who have been in peril for several months and they have consistently failed to find the right response.
Southampton are not short of attacking intent and have managed to score three goals in three of their last eight fixtures.
However, they haven’t won any of them and their shaky defence, further weakened by the injury to Armel Bella-Kotchap, may struggle to keep Fulham at bay.
Mitrovic’s availability gives Fulham manager Marco Silva a welcome selection conundrum.
The Serb is Fulham’s top scorer with 11 goals, but his understudy, Carlos Vinicius, has netted twice in the last three games and is by no means certain to be displaced.
Either way Fulham should carry a threat and they will feel confident of defeating a home side which struggles in both penalty boxes.
Saints are capable of playing some nice football, as they showed for long periods away to Forest on Monday.
However, they found a way to lose that game and a similar scenario could unfold against the Cottagers.
Back Fulham draw no bet available at 10/13 with LiveScore Bet
Win big with LiveScore 6!
Fancy winning up to £100,000?
Simply predict six correct scores from the weekend action for your chance to win, with consolation prizes also on offer if you go close.
Play LiveScore 6 for free this weekend (18+, UK only). Click here for details on how to get involved.
