Fulham will finally move out of the bottom three, at least for 24 hours with the win and this feels like a huge weekend in prospect for them with the two teams immediately above them playing each other tomorrow. Leeds United, who came up from the Championship last season with Fulham have had a far more successful return and already have 36 points and  a game in hand of Fulham, the average number needed to survive in the Premier League is 35.9 so they look good to start planning for 21-22 . United have thrilled many neutrals with their exciting brand of football and refusal to sit back regardless of opposition, it might not work for every team, but I strongly feel the best way for newly promoted teams to survive is to play on the front foot whenever possible and not fear opponents, or losing for that matter. These two obviously know each other well, but there is an advantage for Fulham within that, as their improvement has come with the introduction of a whole bunch of talented loanees, so Marcelo Bielsa and his coaching staff will have had a lot of work to do this week, whereas Scott Parker and his backroom team will be well aware of the visitors, who are little changed this season, as well as any opponent in the top flight.

 

Fulham have won the last two h2h meetings here on the banks of the River Thames , including 2-1 last season and led at half time in each. That feels important as United have conceded a Premier league high 19 first half away goals , next most is 16 (Southampton) , followed by WBA on 13, so it really is a very high number and leaves them chasing games too often away from Elland Road. They have a 6-0-8 away record, no draws, which suits our purposes and , ahead of their last away day , which was just 11 days ago and another trip to London where they have struggled, my lengthy notes included .............

 

 

West Ham won 2-0 and were indeed up by that scoreline at the break and anyone who went with that brave option was handsomely rewarded. If that was you, you could definitely try again and 3.24 for Fulham to lead at half time and 6.0-6.50 to score twice in the first half are attractively priced if you wanted to go down that route. I will probably do so again, but having "officially" been cautious in the Hammers game, I will stick with that policy today.