Fulham vs. Southampton: Prediction, Preview & Betting Tips

Southampton begin life without Russel Martin this weekend as they take on Fulham in West London in an interesting Premier League encounter.

• Date: 22/12/2024
• Kick-off time: 14:00
• Location: Craven Cottage, West London

Fulham are currently 8th in the Premier League with 24 points from 16 games. The Cottagers are enjoying an excellent campaign in the league this season and currently harbour hopes of claiming a European place. Marco Silva’s side are well organised, play to their strengths and have lots of quality in the forward areas, and if they keep up their current rate of points accumulation, they'll be in with an outside chance of claiming a Conference League place.

Silva’s men have been consistent throughout the season so they’ll believe they can keep up their current level of performance, and they may even strengthen in the upcoming January transfer window to bolster their chances of a top seven finish.

The Cottagers’ standout performer this season has been left-back Antonee Robinson, who many are calling the best left-back in the Premier League. Robinson has six assists to his name and is accruing a very strong CV with the way he’s dealing with some of the league’s best wingers this season.

Should other results go their way, Fulham could end the weekend as high as 6th in the league table, and if you’d have told Fulham fans back in July they’d be in 6th place on Christmas Day, few would have believed it.

Southampton come into this game in desperation mode. The Saints sacked manager Russell Martin after a sorry showing against Tottenham Hotspur last weekend that saw them 0-5 down at half-time. Few have argued with the decision of the Saints’ board, with the team currently bottom of the league with only five points to their name, with just 11 goals scored and a whopping 36 conceded.

The manner in which Southampton have routinely given away cheap goals was becoming harder and harder to justify, and the board now have a huge decision to make in terms of which direction they head in with the next appointment. Southampton have tailored their entire transfer policy around Martin’s possession-heavy style of play, but it’s fared so poorly in the Premier League that the temptation will now be to go in a completely different direction rather than double down and hope a new face makes a better fist of it.

There is no doubt that Southampton’s squad is not the strongest in the league, but the squad is not completely devoid of quality either, so the expectation will be that the new manager moulds them into a competitive team, even if the chance of relegation remains very high.

Southampton U21 manager, Simon Rusk, will take interim charge of this game. Rusk is not currently a serious contender for the job, but should he pull off an upset here, he’ll do wonders for his own reputation. The likelihood is, however, that Southampton will fall to yet another defeat.

This game will be televised live in the UK on Sky Sports Main Event.

Fulham Team News:

Marco Silva will be unable to call upon the injured trio of Reiss Nelson, Joachim Andersen and Harrison Reed, while Andreas Pereira is unavailable through suspension.

Emile Smith-Rowe should take Pereira's place in the starting lineup, while Rodrigo Muniz will be hoping for a place in the XI after scoring off the bench at Anfield last weekend.

Predicted lineup: Leno; Tete, Diop, Cuenca, Robinson; Berge, Lukić; Wilson, Smith-Rowe, Iwobi; Muniz.

Southampton Team News:

Goalkeepers Aaron Ramsdale and Gavin Bazunu remain out injured, while Will Smallbone and Ross Stewart are expected to miss out once again.

Jack Stephens will serve the last of a three-match suspension here so he'll be unavailable for Simon Rusk.

Predicted lineup: McCarthy; Sugawara, Harwood-Bellis, Bednarek; Walker-Peters; Dibling, Aribo, Downes, Lallana, Fernandes; Armstrong.

Fulham:

The Cottagers enter this game off the back of one win, three draws and one defeat in their last five games. Last weekend, Marco Silva's side picked up a fine point away at Anfield as goals from Andreas Pereira and Rodrigo Muniz secured a 2-2 draw against Liverpool, but they may feel as though it should've been more given they played most of the game against ten men.

That game followed a 1-1 draw at home to Arsenal, with Raul Jiménez scoring the goal, which came after a 3-1 win over Brighton & Hove Albion - where an Alex Iwobi brace and an own goal sealed the points.

Before that, a goal from Tom Cairney helped Fulham to a 1-1 draw away at Spurs, which came after a disappointing 1-4 loss to Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Southampton:

Southampton's form is dire, with the Saints having drawn one and lost four of their last five matches. Last time out, Southampton were hammered 0-5 by Tottenham Hotspur, with all five Spurs goals coming in the first half.

Prior to that, Southampton lost 1-0 away at Aston Villa, a result that was preceded by a 1-5 hammering to Chelsea on home soil.

Those results came after a 1-1 draw away at Brighton & Hove Albion and a 2-3 defeat to Liverpool, where despite going 2-1 up through Adam Armstrong and Matheus Fernandes, they ultimately fell to a defeat.

Fulham have been excellent this season under Marco Silva, as the hosts sit a point outside the European places after 16 games played. Southampton have been the worst-performing team in the league following their 5-0 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur, which leaves them with five points from 16 games.

The hosts are unbeaten in their last four league games, drawing three and winning once against Brighton and Hove Albion (3-1). They remain unbeaten in their previous two home games following a 1-1 draw against Arsenal. Southampton are winless in their last six games, having also lost their last three consecutive games, conceding five on two occasions against Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur. Fulham 3-1 Southampton.

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