Fulham v Chelsea free betting tips | Premier League best bets and preview

By Tom Carnduff

Football

Sat January 16, 2021 · 4y ago

Saturday Night Football sees a huge west London derby as Fulham host Chelsea in the Premier League. Tom Carnduff has a preview and two best bets.

Football betting tips: Premier League

1pt Fulham/Draw in Fulham v Chelsea at 17/10

1pt Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa to score anytime in Fulham v Chelsea at 15/1

For details of advised bookmakers and each-way terms, visit our transparent tipping record

Fulham v Chelsea

17:30 GMT on Sky Sports Main Event
Match odds: Home 6/1 | Draw 7/2 | Away 4/9

Fulham were completely written off at the start of the season. A team with no defensive structure and one who struggled to put the ball into the back of the net; Scott Parker deserves a huge amount of credit for this level of improvement that is slowly starting to bring results.

They are now unbeaten in their last six games in all competitions, all six have remarkably finished as draws in 90 minutes. Fulham should have picked up all three points on the merit of their second-half performance against Tottenham but had to settle for a 1-1 draw.

They are getting points against those around them but also those sitting towards the top-end of the table. This Chelsea side is struggling, the huge money approach on trying to win the title again has left them ten points off the top already and Fulham can capitalise.

It's a bit of a push to back the 6/1 on a home win but the 17/10 best price available on the double chance in their favour is great value based on the recent showings. This is, after all, a Chelsea side with just one win in their last six Premier League contests.

We shouldn't judge Fulham on the reputation they gained at the start of the season. The team now looks nothing like the team at the beginning of the campaign. They will still be battling to avoid the drop but they are making themselves a tough side to beat with attacking talents at the other end - Ademola Lookman is performing like someone who should be much further up the table.

Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa has an effort saved from close range against Liverpool

Lookman is 23/5 to score anytime in this game, but he was on the bench for the draw against Spurs and Parker may be tempted to keep a similar team to that one, with Lookman providing an impact as a substitute if required. Instead, I'm willing to back Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa to net anytime based on recent showings.

He's hardly a prolific goalscorer, we'll throw that out there straight away, so this could well be his only goal of the campaign. However, it's surprising he hasn't scored at any point during those draws against Southampton and Tottenham.

The midfielder had two shots in each of those games, with both being on target at Spurs, the highest of any player on the Fulham side of things and the joint-highest on the pitch with Son Heung-min. It's surprising that a midfielder who charges up and down the pitch and holds a real presence in and out of possession hasn't had more efforts on goal and hasn't yet scored this season.

I don't like to use the term 'due a goal' but it's one that does feel relevant here. He's come close on a couple of occasions now and the 15/1 best price, alongside the 12/1 across the board, looks a bit too high on those recent showings. He can strike in a game where Fulham could well get yet more points.

Score prediction: Fulham 1-1 Chelsea (Sky Bet odds: 7/1)

Fulham v Chelsea best bets

Fulham/Draw on double chance at 17/10

Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa to score anytime at 15/1

Opta facts

Chelsea have lost four of their last six Premier League games (W1 D1), as many as they had in their previous 23 in the competition (W14 D5).
Chelsea lost 1-3 against Manchester City in their first league game of 2021 – they’ve not started a calendar year with two consecutive league defeats since 1993, with their first defeat in that year being at home against Manchester City.
Fulham have drawn each of their last five Premier League games, as many draws as they’d had in their previous 45 top-flight matches. The Cottagers last had a longer run of consecutive league draws between December 2006-January 2007 (6).
Scott Parker’s first match as Fulham manager was a 1-2 defeat against Chelsea in the Premier League in March 2019. With Frank Lampard in charge of the Blues for this game, this is the first top-flight meeting between the clubs with both having an English manager since December 1967 – Vic Buckingham (Fulham) and Dave Sexton (Chelsea).
Chelsea’s Timo Werner has failed to score in any of his last nine league games, his longest drought in top-flight football since a run of 11 between March-September 2016. The German has played 663 minutes across these nine matches but managed just seven shots on target.

Odds correct at 1700 GMT (14/01/21)

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