There is one match in the Sky Bet Championship before Christmas and it comes along on Monday night when the leaders Fulham host Sheffield United in a match which sees two sides who were plying their trade in the Premier League last term in action.
Fulham have the chance to go five points clear at the top if they can pick up a win in this match while Sheffield United can move into the top half of the table if they can leave the capital with all three points.
Where to watch
The match will be shown live and in full on the Sky Main Event and Sky Football channels. The build-up to the game begins at 7.30pm with kick off at Craven Cottage coming at 7.45pm.
Fulham
Although they are top of the table, Fulham go into this match having drawn their last four matches, with only one of those against teams in the top half of the table, so they are just beginning to stumble a little. To be fair they should have beaten Bournemouth in the match they played against a team in the top half but even they are not in great form at the minute. A win here would have the title favourites in a very handy position going into the second half of the campaign.
Goals have suddenly dried up for Fulham. They have scored just three goals in their last four matches, although they have created better chances than they have scored so while they would like to be finding the net more, they aren’t as bad as the numbers look. They did look a little flat at Luton last week though. The one thing Fulham have is ridiculous strength in depth so if someone isn’t doing it for them they can soon make changes.
Sheffield United
Clearly the opening half of the season hasn’t gone the way that Sheffield United would have wanted. They were expecting an immediate return to the Premier League but find themselves in the bottom half of the table as we approach the halfway mark. Should they come out of this match with a win though they would be just three points off the playoffs, so while the campaign hasn’t gone to plan to date, they could still be well on track to achieve their aim.
They have turned their form around since the departure of Slavisa Jokanovic. That doesn’t surprise me hugely. The issue the Blades have is the lack of a potent goalscorer but they are creating better chances under Paul Heckingbottom and are prepared to take risks to look to score even if it means they are a little more vulnerable at the other end. Sheffield United have won their last three matches and have had a 16-day break ahead of this one so they should be nice and fresh.
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Team News
In his press conference on Friday, Marco Silva suggested the only injury issue he has is the young striker Jay Stansfield so unless they have suffered any positive tests since then the Cottagers are close to full strength.
Sheffield United will be without Rhian Brewster for this match but they hope to have John Fleck back. Sander Berge will be hoping to start the match while Billy Sharp is expected to lead the line in the absence of Brewster.
Betting
I saw Fulham with my own eyes last week and while their technical quality was there for all to see their quality wasn’t as apparent as I would have expected it to be. Nevertheless, when you look down their squad it is hard to ignore the insane strength that they have. Sheffield United have certainly turned a corner since Heckingbottom arrived but whether they have recovered enough to go away to Fulham and win I would have my concerns.
I think the better bet in this match is for both teams to score. It has landed in the last three Fulham matches and in five of the last nine Sheffield United games. Fulham will be eager to win this match but they are vulnerable against pace and certainly against set pieces so Sheffield United have the tools, and the freshness having not played for 16 days, to get at those weaknesses. The price isn’t anything to write home about but I think we can go into Christmas with a both teams to score winner here.
Tips
Back Both teams to score for a 3/10 stake at 1.73 with Betfair
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