In the Premiership Fulham have been far more positive in front of goal than The Trotters. The Cottagers are the Premierships 6th busiest squad for attempts on goal and 8th most accurate with 50 shots on target. Bolton however are only the 18th most accurate with 37 shots on target. Unfortunately for all their extra effort in front of goal Fulham have scored the exactly the same number of goals as Bolton. Bolton are also less busy than Fulham in the middle third with The Cottagers passing and tackling more frequently. However crosses seem to be of special interest to Bolton as they are 4th busiest crossers in the Premiership. With the extra effort put into crossing it might be tempting to believe Bolton are a long ball team but the split between short and long passes for both squads is similar.
It would appear that The Trotters just prefer crossing the ball into the penalty area rather than playing their way there on the ground. The fundamental difference between the two squads is their defensive records with The Trotters conceding nearly 50% less goals than the Fulham defence. Bolton's defence has also managed to achieve 7 clean sheets against the 3 managed by Fulham. The stats show that the Bolton defence perform less well away from home with just one goal being shipped at home and 10 away from home, 5 of which were scored by Fulham Broadway.
The figures over the last three seasons show that on game stats Fulham are still some way below the levels achieved in the 03/04 season. In terms of numbers, activity in front of goal has declined in each of the last two seasons although shooting activity this season is doing well relative to other squads. Midfield activity such as passing and tackling also seems to have gone backward over the same period. However this season is showing some signs that these aspects are improving in comparison to last season. Crossing is the one aspect that has seen a clear increase this season. Prior to the 3-2 defeat at Middlesbrough figures for the number of goals conceded was reducing but not now.