Fulham and Liverpool will not will come into this game in the greatest of confidence, following some poor recent performances. Liverpool have gone out of the Champions League and lost top spot in the Barclaycard Premiership within the space of a few days, while Fulham have not won a league game since October 6th.
The Cottagers may have been progressing nicely in the UEFA Cup, but only a 0-0 draw with Birmingham last Sunday ended a four-game losing streak in the league. Having started the season promisingly, Jean Tigana's men are only four points better off than bottom club Bolton.
There may be hope for this game though, as assistant manager Christian Damiano explained: "We have two different faces at the moment. When we play great teams like Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United we always come close to winning but when we play teams at a similar level, we have a different reaction. The problem at the moment is getting the same reaction inside the group when we play teams around our level."
Fulham managed to draw with Chelsea and Manchester United at Loftus Road, and only an unlucky own goal and some bad refereeing decisions saw them lose 1-0 to Arsenal. If they can raise their game again for the visit of Liverpool, they may be able to get a result.
|
| |
Fulham |
Liverpool |
Div
Avg |
| Games Played |
14 |
14 |
14 |
| GOAL ATTEMPTS |
| Goals |
17 |
24 |
17 |
| Ave Goals Per Game |
1.2 |
1.7 |
1.2 |
| Shots (excluding blocked shots) |
143 |
179 |
150 |
| Ave Shots Per Game |
10 |
13 |
11 |
| % Shots On Target |
46% |
44% |
43% |
| % Goals To Shots |
11% |
12% |
11% |
| PASSING |
| Short Passes |
3142 |
3538 |
3341
|
| Long Passes |
1604 |
1676 |
1536 |
| Total Passes |
4746 |
5214 |
4877 |
| Ave Passes Per Game |
365 |
401 |
375 |
| % Overall Pass Completion |
72% |
71% |
73% |
| CROSSING |
| Total Crosses |
289 |
301 |
296 |
| Ave Crosses Per Game |
22 |
23 |
23 |
| Completion |
25% |
25% |
25% |
| DEFENDING |
| Goals Conceded |
18 |
18 |
15 |
| Ave Goals Conceded Per Game |
1.4 |
1.4 |
1.2 |
| Tackles |
371 |
445 |
363 |
| Ave Tackles Per Game |
29 |
34 |
28 |
| Tackles Won % |
72% |
73% |
72% |
| Blocks, Clearances & Interceptions |
552 |
556 |
566
|
| Ave Blocks, etc., Per Game |
42 |
43 |
44 |
| DISCIPLINE |
| Fouls |
184 |
195 |
179 |
| Ave Fouls Per Game |
14 |
15 |
14 |
| Yellow Cards |
26 |
23 |
21 |
| Fouls per yellow |
7 |
8 |
8 |
| Red Cards |
3 |
0 |
1 |
| stats from opta |
|
Sunderland showed last Sunday that Owen and Co can be stopped.
That 0-0 draw was a hugely frustrating game for Liverpool, who threw shot after shot at Jurgen Macho in the Black Cats' goal, while their opponents did not manage a single attack.
Perhaps Michael Owen was tired by the prospect of becoming a father for the first time, but Liverpool were left with just a point.
After losing their first league game to Middlesbrough the previous weekend, and their traumatic Champions League exit, Gerard Houllier's men needed a good win to silence the critics. Instead they had to settle for second place in the Barclaycard Premiership, and now need to cling on to Arsenal's coat-tails again.
Losing to Fulham would be seen by Houllier's critics as a sign that his team are facing a crisis. Certainly not everything is as it should be at Anfield, which was shown in the manager's outspoken complaint about Steven Gerrard's performances. What reaction that causes in the England star remains to be seen, but for now, he is out of the team.
When the sides met in March, Liverpool came away with a 2-0 win after a typically compact performance. Their goals that day were scored by Nicolas Anelka and Jari Litmanen, neither of whom is still at the club. What Houllier needs is for his other strikers to start to help Michael Owen with the goalscoring.
He has hit a rich vein of form recently, but Liverpool have relied too heavily on him, especially in the league. The last time another striker scored in the Barclaycard Premiership was Milan Baros on September 21st. If the Merseysiders are going to keep up with Arsenal, Owen will need some help, and Loftus Road would be a good place to start.
source: 4thegame
| MATCH BETTING ODDS |
Liverpool are having trouble finding the net in the Premiership recently. Judging by the number of shots on goal against Sunderland that could be on the change.
The Reds threw everything at Howard Wilkinson's ten defenders but could not break through.
A quick glance at Liverpool's away record in the Premiership over the last two seasons shows that they have won 16 of 25 matches on their travels, so the evens available at Betfair would be interesting for the away fans.
Fulham are still squandering chances in front of goal, scoring only five goals in their last nine Premiership outings, although that statistic is bolstered by some impressive performances in the Worthington and UEFA Cups.
Nevertheless, it will be difficult for the Cottagers to score against a Liverpool backline which has conceded just two goals in their last eight league matches.
So a 0-0draw would seem to be the best Fulham can hope for.
The best high street price for Fulham is 11/4 with 31/10 possibly available at BetFair.
|
|
Matchday Referee: Graham Poll, Tring
Graham Poll was a mere whipper-snapper when he joined the Premier League list, back in 1993, and even now, at 39, the vastly experienced Poll isn't one of the League's oldest officials.
 The self-employed sales consultant began refereeing in 1980, joining the football league list in 1991 and gaining FIFA approval in 1996. His career highlights include the 1998 Charity Shield and 2000/01's FA Cup final.
Having been made an official FIFA referee, Poll was also in charge of a handful of Euro 2000 matches and officiated between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid in the Champions League final of the same year.
Poll was the most used official in the 2001/02 Premiership season with 24 games, but only brandished an average of 2.7 yellow cards. He did, however, brandish 5 reds.
(Ed. In his 9 games so far this season Mr. Poll has issued 25 yellows 56% to the home side rising to 66% in his last 6 games.
His last Fulham game was the F.A. Cup Semi against Chelsea when he was not too helpful. He also took the home league games against Leeds, overlooking some serious bad play by the Northerners and booking Leggy, and the home draw with Chelsea, when he booked Sean Davis.
The bad Reds are Hamann 4 yels, Murphy 4 yels and Diouf 4 yels).
2001/
2002
stats
|
Mr. Poll's score sheet |
Average Premiership Referee score sheet |
|
Total |
Match
Avg |
Total |
Match
Avg |
| Games |
24 |
|
16 |
|
| Fouls |
700 |
29.17 |
472 |
29.81 |
| Penalties |
6 |
0.25 |
3 |
0.19 |
| Yellow cards |
59 |
2.46 |
49 |
3.07 |
| Red Cards |
5 |
0.21 |
3 |
0.19 |
| Fouls per Yellow |
11.9 |
|
9.7 |
|
| Fouls per match |
29 |
|
30 |
|
|
|
|