A lot of people only watch English Premier League games that involve at least one of the top teams in the competition. I would say that’s a huge mistake, as even the worst sides in the EPL can often provide exceptional soccer games.
In fact, the clubs that are fighting against relegation usually lack the quality to play in the elite soccer division, but they make up for that with heart and desire.
I believe that Huddersfield is a bright example of that, and the team will now face Fulham in the last game of the next round of EPL games.
The match is crucial for both teams, as they are in the relegation zone, and clashes with direct rivals are usually where you have the best chance to win some vital points. I expect a tough battle between two desperate sides, which is an exciting way to close the round.
Of course, I will also explore the opportunities provided by the top EPL betting websites and share my prediction and betting pick for this soccer game.
The first part of this preview would be to check the odds available for this EPL game.
Considering the performance of both teams since the start of the season, I completely understand the logic behind the match result odds.
It’s hard to separate Huddersfield and Fulham, so the home advantage is the only reason to believe the former is more likely to win.
I would argue that Fulham’s squad has much bigger potential, but it has failed to display that so far in the season. The Cottagers are one of the worst sides out there when it comes to defending their goal, which is the reason why they are the slight underdog in this match, too.
As for the under/over goals market, I’m sure it must have been a headache for the gambling sites to figure it out. The Fulham defense is probably at the level of a Sunday league team, but so is Huddersfield’s attack.
I’m not quite sure what to expect, either, so the line of 2.5 goals and the rather close odds actually make sense. Still, I think this is the market that opens the door for an interesting bet, but more about that later.
For now, let’s move on to the analysis of each team.
I think that we all expected to see Huddersfield in the relegation battle, so it’s not exactly a shocker that the club is last in the English Premier League after the first ten games.
I would argue that Huddersfield’s survival last year was nothing short of a miracle.
The side wasn’t prepared for the competition last year, and it failed to improve in the summer. The squad at David Wagner’s disposal doesn’t have the quality or the depth to be much better than it is right now.
David Wagner’s men have found the net only four times since the start of the season, which is ridiculous. The main explanation is simple, though – the team doesn’t have good players.
With all due respect to the midfielders and forwards of Huddersfield, most of them probably don’t belong in the English Premier League.
This is evident if you look teams like Fulham and Newcastle that are in the relegation zone as well but at least have some decent players up front.
This is not the case with Huddersfield, but let’s forget the personnel for a second and take a deeper look at what is happening on the pitch. The main issue is that the team simply doesn’t create enough chances.
Huddersfield is not only last in goals scored but also in big chances missed. This suggests that the creativity of the side is the main issue here. In my opinion, this is a direct result of the manager’s desire to keep it tight at the back.
David Wagner is trying to build a side that is at least hard to beat, and this is the reason why his midfield’s main goal is to protect the defense.
As a result, the attack suffers, and there aren’t enough men going forward. If you add the lack of creative players that can penetrate the opposition, you get the current results.
This certainly improves the defense to an extent, as Huddersfield managed to make most of their games somewhat close up to this point.
They got three hard-fought draws and were close to getting more points here and there, but that’s obviously not enough.
I feel this is the type of game in which David Wagner must take more risks and send his boys out with the intention to attack. Fulham is vulnerable at the back, which might give Huddersfield a chance.
I would say that one of the few positive pieces of news around the club is that the manager has the backing of the owner, which is rare to see in the EPL these days.
In fairness, considering the squad at his disposal, Wagner can’t do much more right now.
If there’s a team from the English Premier League that has surprised me so far, it’s Fulham.
I expected a rather steady season from the side and a finish somewhere around 13th or 14th place. As it stands, the Cottagers are one of the relegation candidates.
The team is in the bottom three of the table and has the worst defense in the EPL.
Manager Slavisa Jokanovic clearly is not happy and has tried to motivate his players to improve in the near future.
The main issue comes from two sources. The first one is that Fulham often leaves too much space at the back for the opposition’s forwards.
This wouldn’t have been that terrible if the defenders didn’t constantly make blatant individual mistakes on top. The side simply doesn’t have the players to play with a high defensive line.
The result is clear for everyone to see. I’m not sure if there’s a quick fix for that, but the good news is that Fulham will now face a team that is quite bad at creating chances and scoring goals.
I feel this is a good opportunity for the side to keep a clean sheet and gain some confidence, but that won’t happen if the big errors at the back continue.
The good news is that Fulham’s attack has been working rather well since the start of the season.
Schurrle and Mitrovic have scored plenty of goals that brought the Cottagers some points. The team is capable of hurting the opposition, so they should have some chances against Huddersfield as well.
To be completely honest, I’m not sure what to expect from Fulham in this game. It feels like Slavisa Jokanovic is forced to make some changes, as things aren’t going well.
On the other hand, Huddersfield is actually a rather good match-up for the Cottagers, and pushing for the win might be the right approach for this particular match.
Fulham has managed to fool me more than once this season already, but I will once again back the side. The potential is there, the goals are there, they need a bit of confidence at the back, and the results will come.
The side should be able to score against Huddersfield, while the home team’s attack is so poor that it shouldn’t be able to put Fulham under too much pressure. This is why I expect something like 2-1 or even 3-1 in favor of the Cottagers.
The price for them to get all the points is 3.25 if you look at what BetOnline has to offer.
I wouldn’t go big on this one, as Fulham has managed to disappoint multiple times already this season.
The match will be pretty tough for both teams, I think, but I still feel that this Fulham side is too good to get relegated. It’s time for them to start winning some points, and this is a great opportunity to do so.
Do you agree with my opinion, or do you feel that Huddersfield can actually bring some joy to the home supporters on Monday night?
Let me know in the comments below.
Good luck!
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