The Monday Night Football this week is made up of just the one game and it could have huge implications at the bottom end of the table where the third and final team to exit the Premier League when Fulham play host to Burnley.
If Fulham lose the match they will be relegated back to the Championship while even a draw is likely to condemn them to the same fate down the line. Burnley are the team Fulham are chasing so they will secure another season of top flight football with a win here.
Where to watch
The match will be shown live in the Monday Night Football programme which begins at 7pm on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League. The match kicks off at 8pm.
Fulham
A couple of months ago it looked like Fulham were not only going to make a great escape this season but climb the league far enough to offer hope that they could establish themselves as a Premier League side next term, however their campaign has faded away disappointingly tamely in truth and if they give themselves a stay of execution here, the writing is on the wall and they will surely be relegated at some point between now and May 23.
They had a decent run going but have now picked up just one point from their last six matches and that has allowed the teams they reeled in to move away from them again. The big issue in that time has been a lack of goals. They have found the net just four times in their last nine outings and that just isn’t going to cut the mustard when you are fighting for your lives. In the main they keep things tight at the back but you’d imagine they will have to open up a little here given the do or die nature of the game.
Burnley
I think most people will have expected Burnley to find some consistency and pull away from danger, which they have become masters in doing throughout their time in the Premier League. That hasn’t really happened in terms of their league position but we shouldn’t ignore that they have 36 points so they only need to average a point per game from here on in to reach that magical 40 point number so regardless of league position there is every chance they would always have been safe.
The one thing we don’t attribute to Burnley is losing leads but that is something that has plagued them in recent times. They head to Craven Cottage having lost four of their last five matches but in three of those defeats they took the lead only to lose. Nick Pope was absent for some of them games which will have been one contributing factor, but that is something Sean Dyche will have worked on. The positive for the Clarets is that they are scoring goals.
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Team News
Scott Parker is expected to have a similar squad to pick from that he did in the recent loss to Chelsea with just Harrison Reed and Tom Cairney sidelined. Ruben Loftus-Cheek is available to him after being ineligible for that loss.
Burnley boss Sean Dyche expects key men Nick Pope and Chris Wood to be fit to play despite them both having knocks leading into the weekend. He will be unable to call upon Robbie Brady though as he is out with an injury.
Betting
You have to say that neither of these teams are in the greatest form or look particularly reliable but I’m still happy to be on Burnley with the draw cover here. I think they are the side who can play with a little more freedom here which I always think is important and although their bare form looks bad, actually their performances and displays haven’t looked anything like as bad. Fulham just don’t look like scoring goals and clearly that is a big issue.
Burnley have been finding the net but they’ve been unable to hold onto a lead however with Fulham and their woes in front of goal being pretty obvious, you sense if Burnley take the lead in this match they will be much more comfortable with it and might even be able to push on and build on it like they did in the 4-0 win over Wolves recently. It might be that Fulham have to open up a little more at some point in this match and if we go back to the start of the season when they tried to be expansive they were picked off at will. Burnley just hold too many of the aces to me here.
Tips
WON – Back Burnley (0AH) to beat Fulham for a 3/10 stake at 2.39 with BetVictor
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