Man City will be up first in the title race this weekend as they visit Fulham in the Saturday lunchtime kick-off.
After spending the past few weeks responding to their rivals Arsenal, City will have a chance to put the Gunners under pressure with Mikel Arteta’s men in action on Sunday afternoon away to crisis-ridden Manchester United.
So far, Pep Guardiola’s men have yet to blink, and notoriously they are in their element at this stage of the campaign.
Moreover, City have a clean bill of health, and they could restore Ruben Dias, John Stones, and Jeremy Doku to the fold after they were benched last week.
From a Fulham perspective, they will be eager to arrest a three-gaming winless streak especially as they are eyeing a top-half finish.
A goalless draw last weekend with West London rivals Brentford was perhaps most memorable for Raul Jimenez’s glaring miss, and only Liverpool (24 times) have struck the woodwork more often than Fulham this term (18).
But down to the main business. I have hopped off to the betting markets and settled on two value tips for you to consider.
Man City to take another giant step towards the title
As is customary at this juncture of the campaign, City have looked unflustered, and they have motored on.
They are unbeaten in their past 20 Premier League games (W16, D4), and they have won their past six on the trot, netting four or more goals on five occasions during that period.
Yes, City have been rampant, and the omens don’t look good for Fulham. Indeed, the reigning league champions have won their past 15 meetings in all competitions with Fulham, their joint-longest winning run any team has against another in English football history.
Oh, and it’s probably worth pointing out the indefatigable nature of Rodri. An ever-present feature of the City line-up, Guardiola’s side haven’t lost any of their past 47 league games in which the Spanish midfielder has featured — only three players have a longer unbeaten run in the competition’s annals.
Fulham look unlikely to disrupt City’s tilt at the title, and to kick things off, I’m going with City to win both halves at Craven Cottage, and a tasty 6/4 price is advertised at Paddy Power.
Erling Haaland to plot Fulham’s downfall
Most Premier League teams dread facing Erling Haaland, and Fulham fall into that camp.
Indeed, Fulham are one of the Norwegian’s favoured opponents, and he has had a remarkable run against them.
He has netted five times in his past three league games against them, including a hat-trick in the corresponding fixture where City won 5-1 at the Etihad in September.
In each of those three games, Haaland has scored a penalty, and no player has ever converted from the spot in four league games in a row against a single side.
To put things into a wider context, Haaland relishes trips to London, and he has had 11 goal involvements across his 11 previous league games in the Capital.
Anyway, while I couldn’t track a Haaland penalty special, I think Haaland will be goal hungry as encompassed by his performance against Wolves where he struck four to take his league tally to 25.
To round things off, I’m going with Haaland to bag a hat-trick and he’s trading at a reasonable 15/2 with William Hill.
Bet £10, Get £50 in Bonuses
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