Fulham and Cardiff City meet at Craven Cottage, in a match for the 36 th round of the Premier League. In the last head-to-head for this edition of the league, on 20-10-2018, Cardiff City won at home against (4-2). The history of direct confrontations played in this stadium is favorable to the home team, which in the last 4 matches won 1 and tied 3. But the last time these two teams played a match in this stadium, on 09-09-2017 , for the Championship, the two teams tied by (1-1). R. Sessegnon (75 ‘) scored the goals of the match, for Fulham, and D. Ward (83′), for Cardiff City. Particular attention is required for the home / away condition, since both teams present significantly different results at home and abroad.
Fulham:
After 6 wins, 5 draws and 24 losses, the home team is currently in the 19 th position of the league, with 23 points won. In the last match, they have won in an away match against Bournemouth by (0-1), after in the previous match they have won (2-0) at home, against Everton. This is a team that usually makes good use of the home advantage, stronger with the help of its supporters, since in the last 30 matches they register 1 win, 1 draw and 13 losses in away matches, with 9 goals scored and 35 conceded; against 4 wins, 2 draws and 9 losses at their stadium, with 17 goals scored and 29 conceded. In the last 10 home league matches Fulham has a record of 3 wins, 1 draw and 6 losses, so they have won 10 points out of 30 possible. The team has conceded goals in 8 of the last 10 matches, so it has not presented great defensive solidity, but their offense has scored consistently, as they have scored goals in 7 of the last 10 matches for this competition. There is a tendency for goals in their home matches, as 16 of the last 17 matches for this competition have ended with Over 1,5 goals. In 35 matches in the competition, he suffered the first goal 23 times and only managed 2 comebacks.
After knowing that he would no longer avoid the relegation to the English second division, Fulham released the pressure and began to present a different football, something that all fans expected at the start of the season, as it has several individual values in its template . It is important to note that Fulham come to this day with two consecutive victories in the championship, being the last away from home, against Bournemouth, by 0-1: Aleksandar Mitrovic scored the only goal of the team. In this game against Cardiff, coach Scott Parker should organize his team in 4-2-3-1, benefiting possession of the ball and organized attacks, mainly on the flanks. Aleksandar Mitrovic is the great highlight of Fulham, with 11 goals scored in the English championship. For this game the local coach can count on all his players.
Cardiff City:
After 9 wins, 4 draws and 22 losses, the away team is currently in the 18 th position, with 31 points won. In the last match, they have lost in an away match against Liverpool at home (0-2), after in the previous match they have won away, in a match against Brighton & Hove Albion, by (0-2). This is a team that usually makes good use of the home advantage, stronger with the help of its supporters, since in the last 30 matches they register 3 wins, 1 draw and 11 losses in away matches, with 10 goals scored and 25 conceded; against 6 wins, 1 draw and 8 losses at their stadium, with 17 goals scored and 27 suffered. For the league, Cardiff City won 10 points out of 30 possible points, after 3 wins, 1 draw and 6 losses in the last 10 home matches. In their away matches there are a few frequent results at half-time: 1-0 (6 out of 18 matches) and 0-0 (7 out of 18 matches). Defensive consistency has not been their best feature, as they have conceded goals in 8 of the last 10 matches for this competition. This is a team that usually scores a few times first: it only opened the scoring in 8 of its last 35 matches for the Premier League, of these 8 it reached the break in advantage in 3 and won at the end of the 90 ‘in 6. In 35 matches in this tournament, suffered the first goal 23 times and only got 3 comebacks. In the last 17 away matches for this competition there is 1 period that stands out: they have scored 7 of their 11 goals between minutes (76’-90 ‘).
Cardiff is the only team in the relegation zone that can still get maintenance, however, it needs to win the next two games, as on the last day it faces the mighty Manchester United away from home. It is important to remember that Cardiff come into this game with a defeat against Liverpool, in a match in which he was dominated during the 90 ‘game. In this game away from home, coach Neil Warnock should maintain the usual 4-3-3, benefiting a low block and passing in depth towards Oumar Niasse.
