Fulham v Southampton Betting Tips [31 December 2022]

The Premier League continues on the weekend as Fulham take on Southampton at Craven Cottage for the Sunday kickoff. Fulham have been having a strong season back in the English top flight after winning the Championship last season. The Cottagers have won six and drawn four of their 16 matches, putting them on 22 points and ninth in the table. They now have a comfortable nine point lead over the relegation zone and trail the top five spots by seven points. Fulham took full advantage of a nine-men Crystal Palace side in their most recent fixture, running out 3-0 away winners at Selhurst Park. The win snapped a string of two consecutive losses albeit at the hands of the two Manchester clubs before the World Cup break.

The hosts should be confident of getting another three points here as they welcome bottom-of-the-table Southampton to West London. The Saints are in desperate need of a win in the Premier League as they have now lost their last four straight in the league with their last win coming on October 19th. Southampton lost 3-1 at home to Brighton in their latest fixture which represents the team’s third straight league match where they have conceded at least three goals. The only wins for Southampton in the last seven matches have come against lower division clubs in the EFL Cup. 

We could be in for goals when these two sides meet as Fulham have trended heavily towards over 2.5 this entire season. They’ve scored 14 times at Craven Cottage while conceding 13 goals – meaning that their home matches see an average of 3.38 goals scored per match. While Southampton have struggled to get on the scoresheet as the visiting side this season, scoring just five goals in eight away trips, they can at least take confidence that they have managed to find the net in all four matches that new manager Nathan Jones has been in charge of.

Southampton do look better on the offensive side of the ball under their new manager and should be able to get on the scoresheet here. However, their defense is still among the worst in the division and it will be difficult for them to contain a Fulham side in good form that has shown great attacking quality this season under progressive manager Marco Silva. This match has all the makings of a back-and-forth affair which should eclipse the 2.5 goals mark. Our prediction for Fulham vs Southampton is over 2.5 goals.