Fulham and Ipswich living up to their renowned
potential would make this fixture one for the purists. Ipswich set the Premiership
alight and earned the plaudits with their slick approach play last season,
just as Fulham were gaining promotion to the top flight under what can be
deemed Jean Tigana's 'total football' philosophy.
Not surprisingly encounters between the two sides have been notoriously
tight affairs over the past couple of years, with the Blues' 1-0 victory
at Portman Road in March 2000 sandwiched between a goalless draw and more
recently, a 1-1 stalemate at Craven Cottage.
But the goals have been free flowing from the Ipswich camp since they turned
the corner in December and it will take a resilient visiting defence to
keep George Burley's marauding side at bay. The Tractor Boys have averaged
a trio of strikes per game in their last three home league matches in succession,
which all ended in victory and maximum points again could see them make
substantial moves up the table. However, a heavy FA Cup defeat against Manchester
City will have rocked the foundations somewhat.
Fulham are currently gracing the Premiership top 10 and remain unbeaten
in 2002 - a record they will be keen to build on in Suffolk. The team
who won just once and scored only four times in six outings during December
have also stumbled across better form of late.
|
Portman Road
30th January, 2002 |
Ipswich |
Fulham |
Div
Avg |
| Games |
23 |
22 |
23 |
| ATTACKING |
| Goals
scored |
31 |
23 |
30 |
| Ave
goals per game |
1.35 |
1.05 |
1.30 |
| Shots(ex
blocked shots) |
294 |
248 |
253 |
| Shooting
Accuracy |
40% |
39% |
44% |
| Goals
to shots % |
11% |
9% |
11% |
| PASSING |
| Short
passes |
6782 |
7370 |
6615 |
| Long
passes |
2586 |
2436 |
2471 |
| Passes |
9368 |
9806 |
9086 |
| Pass
completion % |
75% |
78% |
75% |
| CROSSING |
| Crosses |
778 |
525 |
565 |
| Crosses
completion % |
25% |
26% |
25% |
| DEFENDING |
| Tackles |
565 |
697 |
616 |
| Tackle
success rate % |
75% |
72% |
73% |
| Goals
conceded |
33 |
22 |
30 |
| Ave
goals conceded per game |
1.43 |
1.00
|
1.30
|
| DISCIPLINE |
| Fouls |
330 |
316 |
355 |
| Yellow
cards |
32 |
28 |
37 |
| Red
cards |
1 |
1 |
3 |
| stats
from opta |
|
Matchday
Referee: Alan Wiley
After taking charge of 14 games this season, Alan Wiley is holding
his own near the summit of the referees' chart having awarded
more fouls than any other top-flight official. However, despite
such a show of authority Wiley has only flashed his red card
on one occasion, which implies a rationality in his decision
making.
In the Premiership he appears to have been reasonably evenhanded
with little bias between home and away squads. He has refed
only one Fulham game this season when we played Arsenal back
in September. He booked 7 players amongst who were Boa Morte,
Symons and Legwinski all for fouls. He perhaps could have been
a bit firmer with the Arsenal backline.
| Ref's
score sheet |
| |
Total |
Match
Avg |
| Games |
14 |
|
| Fouls
|
476 |
34.00 |
| Penalties |
3 |
0.21 |
| Yellow
cards |
49 |
3.50 |
| Red
Cards |
1 |
0.07 |
|
|
|
Full-back Steve Finnan, currently ranked the best defender
in the top flight according to the Opta Index, admits that hopes are high
within the camp: "There's a growing sense that perhaps we're capable
of aiming beyond our original targets for the season. The boss said in the
summer that he thought we'd finish between eighth and 12th, but there's
a consensus now that with a bit of luck we could finish higher."
However, the Cottagers may need to improve in a couple of areas before such
ambitions can be realised. Despite boasting the third best passing rate
in the Premiership they still lack a cutting edge in attack and have tested
the 'keeper with just 39% of their efforts. The return of Louis Saha, who
missed the Sunderland clash with a broken nose, should bolster Fulham's
strike force on the night.
The visitors also come off second best in the tackling stakes and with both
sides eager to stroke possession around, ball-winning skills could be key
to victory. If Town can dust themselves down after losing to the First Division
leaders then good old-fashioned determination may be enough to see them
through.
|
Source planetfootball by Mark Willis