Prediction: Manchester City vs Fulham

3rd February 2012

Manchester City cannot afford any more mistakes after the defeat at Goodison Park saw their three-point advantage over Manchester United disappear, but beating Fulham will be no easy task. The Cottagers are playing well at the moment and they are looking to spoil the party for Roberto Mancini’s men.

While home defeats to Manchester United and Liverpool in FA Cup and Carling Cup respectively were certainly seen as big disappointments at Etihad Stadium, it appeared that Manchester City quickly returned to the right track, having recorded Premier League wins over Wigan and Tottenham. However, when the Citizens were expected to easily beat injury-plagued and out-of-form Everton, they produced one of the worst performances this season and ended up deservedly losing the game. Roberto Mancini later admitted he was to blame for the defeat, although his players have got to take at least part of the blame. The poor display at Goodison Park definitely acted as a big blow to the players’ confidence and with rock-solid Fulham on the other side, the Citizens could need some time to prove they are the better team and score the opening goal. New signing David Pizarro could play some part, but Mario Balotelli serves the second match of his four-game ban. Micah Richards and Vincent Kompany are expected to feature after shaking off minor injuries.

Fulham are not exactly the best travelers in the Premier League, so they cannot be expected to break City’s 16-match winning run at Eastlands, but the Cottagers can be trusted to give the Premiership leaders a real run for their money. Everyone who’s ever watched arguably the best league in the world already knows that Fulham largely struggle on the travels, while saving the best for Craven Cottage, but it appears that their showings on away games have improved of late. The Cottagers lost just two of their last six away games in the Premiership, bringing points from their games against Sunderland, Arsenal, Chelsea and Norwich, and they are now hoping to extend the good run at Etihad Stadium. Martin Jol welcomes keeper Mark Schwarzer and forward Moussa Dembele to the squad, but Andy Johnson and Steve Sidwell miss out through injury. New signing Pavel Pogrebnyak is unavailable as he awaits international clearance.

Conclusion

Manchester City are clearly struggling to cope with the absence of key midfielder Yaya Toure, whereas the poor showing against Everton is likely to put an extra pressure on the players. Fulham will try to keep things tight at the back and avoid conceding for as long as possible, so under 2.5 goals looks a good bet here.

Verdict: Under 2.5 goals

Best Odds: 11/8

Bookmaker: 888sport