Fulham v Arsenal – Match Preview and Betting Tip
After a disastrous opening day defeat to Aston Villa, Arsenal fans have reason to be slightly more optimistic about their immediate future, after a week in which they all but confirmed their participation in the Champions League group stages with a 3-0 win away at Fenerbache. Since then, it has become clear that the Gunners are chasing numerous transfer targets, with Karim Benzema and Angel di Maria of Real Madrid apparent targets. Fulham always provide a stiff test on their home turf, though, and Arsenal will need to be at their best to pick up a much needed three points.
Winner
Whichever outcome you plump for in this market, you can get better than even odds. Certainly Arsenal remain the favourites to pick up three points, but the bookies do not completely rule out Fulham picking up at least a point. Thus, Arsenal can be had at 6/5 with BetVictor, while Fulham are 5/2 with BetFred and the draw similarly priced with more than one bookmaker. The draw looks attractive in terms of odds, however Arsenal looked hugely authoritative in mid-week, and should have received a boost in confidence from this win, so I am tipping the Gunners to pick up three points here.
Correct Score
Fulham are a very capable outfit, and not only won on the opening day at Sunderland, but also kept a clean sheet. Nonetheless, they have a reputation for playing a fairly open game at Craven Cottage, and I can see both sides getting on the scoresheet in this fixture. I’m going to tip Arsenal to narrowly come out on the right side of this one, so my tip for this market is Fulham 1 – 2 Arsenal. Best odds available for this are 9/1 with Ladbrokes.
Under / Over 2.5 Goals
In accordance with my tip in the previous market, I am tipping the over 2.5 goals bet for this particular market.
Winning Margin
To tip Arsenal to win by a one goal margin, as indicated by my previous tips, offers some pretty decent odds in this market. The best available on a one goal Arsenal winning margin is 31/10 with Ladbrokes, meaning a tenner will return £41.
First Goalscorer
The forwards of both teams feature strongly in the higher end of this market, with both Olivier Giroud and Dimitar Berbatov certain starters. Giroud can be backed at 6/1 with BetVictor, while the Bulgarian Berbatov can be backed at 7/1 with William Hill. Other likely scorers include the on loan Darren Bent, and Lukas Podolski, while two of Arsenal scorers in mid-week, Aaron Ramsey and Kieran Gibbs, can be backed at 20/1 and 50/1 respectively. However, after a lively display in mid-week, I am tipping the speedy Theo Walcott to open the scoring here. Walcott can be had at 13/2 with BetVictor.
