Fulham v Hull – Premier League

Hull’s continuing struggle to cope with to life in the Premier League this season, takes another turn on Monday night, when they travel south to visit Fulham. Only three places separate the two teams near the bottom of the league, but they do have the same amount of points, and so this is a big, early season clash, and a chance to climb away from that dreaded drop zone. Hull are third from bottom and will be looking to draw inspiration from a much welcome victory in their last league game against Wigan.

While Hull have managed to find the net in all of their eight league games, one worrying stat is that they have let in a whopping ten goals in their last two games on the road. It is unlikely that Fulham are going to have the kind of firepower to deliver a hammering to Hull, but it is a clear indicator that Hull need to tighten up at the back. Their opponents though haven’t much to brag about at the back either, for they have only managed to keep one clean sheet in the league so far. This game should point to goals, but they haven’t been exactly free flowing either.

Fulham have put in better performances in Europe than they have in the Premier League, and yes, Fulham are in Europe. They are taking part in the UEFA Super League. They won’t have Kagisho Dikagcoi available for Monday’s game, which the match commentator will probably be grateful for, and they get Ireland star Damien Duff back from injury. This isn’t going to be an easy week for the men from Craven Cottage, as they have illustrious Italian team Roma coming across the Channel on Thursday for a European game, and then face up against Manchester City. Fulham are in their 130th anniversary year, and Roy Hodgson will be hoping to emulate some of the success they had last year, when their league finish got them into Europe.

Fulham to win: 7/10 at Paddy Power
Draw: 11/4 at Boylesports
Hull to win: 9/2 at Bet365

Betting Advice: Away form in games like this makes all the difference. It’s been nearly a year since Hull got an away win in the league, and while this will be a close one, Fulham should be able to sneak a win out of this to get their week off to a good start. This will constitute a game in hand over some of the immediate teams above them, and will give them a great boost.