Burnley V Fulham Betting – Saturday 12th December

Burnley V Fulham

Saturday 12th December – 15:00 GMT

Burnley

League Position: 13th

Recent League Form: WDDLL

Owen Coyle and Burnley go in search of their first win in five outings on Saturday as Fulham come to Turf Moor. After four games without a win, Burnley will look for inspiration from their 2-0 success against Hull City, a game that was played in front of their buoyant home fans at Turf Moor, the venue for Saturday’s clash with a stubborn Fulham.

With Burnley’s away record not for the faint hearted, results at home are what will keep Burnley afloat this season and what has separated them from the stragglers so far. (5-1-1), that’s Burnley’s record at home this term and that’s a stunning record for a side spending its very first season in the Premiership. However, four of those five victories at Turf Moor did come in succession and the Claret’s are beginning to falter a tad at home, winning just one of their previous three encounters there. Both Aston Villa (1-1) and Wigan Athletic (1-3) have taken points off Burnley at Turf Moor in the last month and their travelling opponents will take a lot of heart from Burnley’s recent home misfortunes.

On the whole, though, Burnley have been mighty impressive at Turf Moor this season, with 16 of their 17 points coming from home matches. If it wasn’t for their superb early form at home then Burnley would almost certainly be a lot closer to the bottom than they currently are. However, Burnley are far from unbeatable at home, though, as Wigan proved a little over a month ago. Still, they are tough nut to crack in front of their home fans and they will need to maintain that fortress feel if they want to cling onto of their Premiership status as points away from home will be at a premium this season.

Burnley lost their eighth game of the season last Saturday, their second in quick succession, crashing to a 2-0 defeat to Portsmouth, a team at the very foot of the table. Burnley actually played extremely well in that encounter and should have scored a bagful. However, Burnley’s wastefulness was Portsmouth’s gain and that was the first time in seven games that Burnley failed to score. On the same token, Burnley has managed to score in each of their seven home games thus far, although their tally of 11 scored at home is hardly formidable.

Fulham

League Position: 8th

                                                    Recent League Form: DLDWD

This could be the last chance saloon for Roy Hodgeson and Fulham as the fixtures only get harder from here on out. Fixtures with Man Utd, Tottenham and Chelsea over the festive periods makes travelling to Turf Moor, a stadium which has brought about the vast majority of Burnley’s points, look a walk in the park. With a gruelling period ahead, it’s vital Fulham go into it with momentum and were they to beat the Clarets on Saturday, Fulham will have won three of their last four, unbeaten along the way, which is ideal form heading into daunting fixtures.

Fulham are rapidly becoming a stubborn and awkward side to play against. They have struggled against the big guns this season, which isn’t all that surprising, but they’ve been as tight as Scrooge himself when it comes to relinquishing points against the smaller fish. Portsmouth, West Ham, Hull City and Bolton, are side near the bottom, teams which Fulham have taken points from. What’s more, the first three were all away from home, with Fulham’s only away misery against a side near the bottom coming in s surprise 1-0 defeat at Wolves.

Fulham are more vulnerable away from home, there away record of 1-3-3 clearly shows this, but they are still a very tough team to beat. They don’t give an awful lot away, they work hard to close opponents down and they defend stoutly. However, scoring is a major concern for both us and for Roy Hodgeson. In seven away outings, Fulham have scored seven goals, which isn’t the worst you’ll see but it’s also not great. A big plus is that only twice have they failed to score on their travels this season, but only twice have they surpassed the one goal marker.

Form wise, Fulham look good, unbeaten in three, two of which were victories over Blackburn Rovers (3-0) and an improving Sunderland (1-0). However, this three match unbeaten run has been based solely at Craven Cottage and Fulham did lose on their previous away outing, a 1-0 defeat at Birmingham City. However, they were unbeaten in three away encounters before losing at St. Andrews, albeit three draws, so perhaps Fulham can bounce back from their Birmingham blues… but the best the can hope for, in our brutal opinion, is a draw as Fulham do struggle to win away games.

Head-to-Head (Last 10):

Burnley W: 0   Fulham W: 0   Draw: 0

With this being Burnley’s first stint in the Premiership, this two have yet to meet in the league.

Match Verdict: Draw – 3.40 Boylesports

We honestly cannot separate the two. Turf Moor has been converted into a very happy hunting ground for Burnley this season and they will be eager to add yet more points on Saturday. However, they may have to settle for just the one as Fulham have already frustrated a handful of teams on the road this season, including a Man City side that beat Chelsea at the weekend. Neither will give too much away although we expect Burnley to ask most of the question. We expect a tight game, with the majority of the play spent in the middle of the park, and it could come down to which of the strikers keeps their cool in the clinical moments.

Match Odds:

Burnley – 2.75 Bet365

Draw – 3.40 Boylesports

Fulham – 2.75 SkyBet

SoccerBetting Value Tip: Under 2.5 Goals – 1.80 PaddyPower