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Match Preview - Fulham v Everton 04.02.04

last updated Wednesday 04th February 2004, 11:44 AM
Fulham Manager Chris Coleman For some people the jury is still out on how Fulham are going to cope without Louis Saha but Saturday's win over Spurs offered plenty of encouragement even though match-winner Brian McBride is ineligible for this game.

All the build-up has been concentrated on Luis Boa Morte publicly accusing Duncan Ferguson of racially abusing him during the 1-1 fourth-round draw at Goodison with Fulham boss Chris Coleman going so far as pleading with his players not to allow the dispute to ignite this replay and spark a mass brawl. That will be the focus for many but as far as the game itself is concerned it's hard to predict anything other than a home win.

A last-gasp Franny Jeffers goal salvaged a replay for Everton but whether they can take advantage is open to doubt as the Toffees have struggled horribly on their travels as just one league win out of 11 this term shows.

Contrast that with a Fulham team that's won seven on their home patch and also have what they see as added motivation for a win and tipping The Cottagers to won looks quite tempting especially as Fulham have a 100% record at home to Everton in the Premiership.

The Cottagers take on Everton for the third time in just over three weeks, and are looking for a repeat of the result in the Premiership meeting at Loftus Road when they won 2-1.

When they played on the Sunday before last it was their first meeting in the FA Cup since 1975. On that occasion Fulham won 2-1 at Goodison Park in the Fifth Round and went on to make their one and only appearance in the Final.

Chris Coleman's side have won their last four League and Cup matches at home this season.

Everton Manager David Moyes is urging his Everton players to build on their encouraging display at Liverpool on Saturday when they face Fulham in the FA Cup.

Moyes' men have a tough Premiership programme to contend with over the next few weeks as they look to pull clear of the clubs struggling on the fringe of the relegation zone and success at Loftus Road on Wednesday would put the players in good heart for the schedule that lies ahead.

Despite the late injury problems which will see Everton go into the game without the services of the in-form Duncan Ferguson, manager Moyes believes the result on Saturday away to Liverpool will have given his side plenty of confidence for the clash with Fulham.

He said: "I think we should take a lot of positives from that result because I felt that the team played well and we had to because Liverpool are a good side and they played really well on the day.

"We went there and we put on a good show, played some good football and made some good opportunities, so hopefully the players will be able to build on that when we face Fulham again.

"I hope that is the case because so far away from home this season we have not been particularly good"

Everton maintained interest in the FA Cup by virtue of Francis Jeffers' 90th minute equaliser in the original tie at Goodison Park. That followed Sean Davis' opener just after half time.

This is the fourth time these clubs have been paired in the FA Cup. Everton have lost all three previous clashes - two after replays.

The Toffees have been Quarter-finalists in three of the past five seasons, but have not won in their last five League and Cup matches this season, drawing the last two. They followed the inconclusive Cup tie with last Saturday's goalless stalemate in the Merseyside derby with Liverpool at Anfield.
Craven Cottage on Loftus Road
FA Cup Rnd 04 Replay - 04 Feb 04 		Pos Fulham Everton Pos
Games Played - (Premiership) 7 23 23 14
GOALS
Goals 4 36 25 15
Ave Goals Per Game 1.57 1.09
Shots 6 256 243 7
% Goals To Shots 5 14% 10% 17
Shots On Target 3 125 99 13
% Shots On Target 2 49% 41% 18
Ave Shots Per Game 11 11
Ave Shots On Target Per Game 5 4
PASSING
Total Passes 8 8491 7728 15
Ave Passes Per Game 369 33
CROSSING
Total Crosses Made 19 422 640 1
Ave Crosses Per Game 18 28
DEFENDING
Goals Conceded 13 33 29 11
Ave Goals Conceded Per Game 1.43 1.26
Tackles 1 798 708 4
Tackles Won 1 597 497 6
% Tackles Won 3 75% 70% 18
Ave Tackles Won Per Game 26 22
Clean Sheets 12 7 7 13
DISCIPLINE
Fouls 10 322 289 18
Average fouls per game 14 13
Yellow Cards 10 40 44 15
Fouls per Yellows 9 8.1 6.6 16
Red Cards 2 2
Figures in the Pos columns indicate position in Premiership




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Although Fulham will be unhappy that they were unable to lock Everton out in the first game they will take some consolation from the fact that they have won their last four games at Loftus Road.
  • Everton are not one of the most prolific scoring teams in the Premiership and have one of the worse shots on target figure in the Premiership. Being without targit man Ferguson will not help that.
  • In the middle of the park Everton's squad make less overall passes than Fulham and also complete less of them. However The Toffees are still the top crossing team in the Premiership which should give The Cottagers' fans plenty of fun moments.
  • In defensive terms Everton have achieved similar results to Fulham. They have achieved the same number of clean sheet as Fulham although they have conceded four less goals than Fulham. Fulham remain the top tackling team in the Premiership although Everton are not far behind.
  • As far as fouls and cards are concerned it is hard to see any difference between the two squads other than Ref's appearing to be harder on The Toffees than on Fulham.

Injuries and unqualified players will ensure that both teams will be unable to field their first choice team however home advantage gives Fulham the edge. On form Fulham should win but at the moment, despite Everton winning just 1 away game, Fulham still have a problem engineering clean sheets.
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