Fulham make the short trip across the capital to face an Arsenal side that have made a superb start to their season. Over the course of the opening game weeks we have seen the Gunners in seriously impressive form, collecting maximum points on offer and now sit top of the table. It has also been encouraging to see varying goal contributions in the final third of the field too. Many different players have popped up with goals and assists, with Arsenal not just relying on one or two specific attacking players to produce the goods.
In comparison, Fulham have made a decent start themselves and remain unbeaten in the Premier League. Although, they did lose to League Two outfit Crawley in the EFL Cup midweek, after making wholesale changes to the starting XI which we cannot read too much into. Last weekend in the PL, they let a 2-0 lead slip against Brentford at the Cottage, however, responded fabulously as Alexsandar Mitrovic rose to bury his header into the corner to gain a valuable 3-2 win. The Cottagers do rely heavily on the Serbians input and the same may well be seen once more in this matchup.
Arsenal v Fulham Bet Builder Tips
Arsenal to Win
Arsenal will be ready to continue their excellent start to the campaign up against promoted side Fulham. As previously mentioned the Gunners have taken 9 points from the 9 available and look to be the real deal this season, with Arteta proving his worth as manager of the club. Over the course of the first three games we have now seen Arsenal score 9 goals in 3 games. This particular stat is something I’m expecting to continue against weaker opponents at home. The club’s home form in recent times is strong; they’ve managed to win 14 of the previous 19 league games at home, only losing on 3 occasions, 2 of which were against Liverpool and Manchester City. So, with this in mind and also the fact Arsenal are in a much better place this season, I can only see another home victory on Saturday.
The foundations have now been set in terms of player personnel and formation, so we are likely to see much of the same here. The only notable absentee is Reiss Nelson, who we expect back in the coming months. Gabriel Jesus is set to start up front once more and has now racked up 2 goals and 3 assists in only 3 games, a serious danger for the Fulham defence to deal with. Other notable players who have been in top form are captain Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Martinelli. The Norwegian scored twice in the opening quarter of an hour against the Cherries, proving that not only is he the playmaker in midfield, but able to be cut throat in front of goal. Martinelli himself has been on the scoresheet twice this season. There is no doubt he will be looking to add to his tally here against lesser opposition. He’s already had 7 shots, with 3 of these on target, 1 in each of the 3 matches played so far. With this set to be his big breakthrough season, I’m backing him to put in another top performance.
As a whole, the entire Arsenal squad has now bought into Arteta’s management style and they now look a serious force in the Premier League. After the 3 convincing winning performances, I believe they’ll get the job done once more here against Fulham.
✅
Prediction: Arsenal to Win
Martin Odegaard to have 2+ Shots
This season, Odegaard has already had 6 shots, averaging out at exactly 2 shots per game. In a game that I see Arsenal dominating for large periods of play, I think this bet has a huge opportunity to land. To begin, it is highly likely that we will see the attacking midfielder on free kick duty in the final third of the field. Therefore, as long as we see the Norwegian attempt an effort to shoot in these situations, this is just one way in which we can see shots attained, as we look to reach the target of 2 needed.
Two further key notes for this bet are that we now see Odegaard deployed as the central attacking midfield player in the 4-2-3-1 system Arteta tends to set up with. Essentially, he has been given the license to operate further up the field than in the more defensive role we saw at points last season. This can enhance our chances of seeing 2+ shots attained. Secondly, 17 shots have been struck in the last 7 PL matches from the captain, this averages out at 2.43 shots per game, another positive stat in relation to the bet.
With the Arsenal shot line set at 18, it is easy for us to anticipate high numbers of shots in total for the home side here. So, I’m backing the playmaker in Martin Odegaard to have 2 or more shots in the process to see this selection home.
🎯
Prediction: Martin Odegaard to have 2+ Shots
Alexsandar Mitrovic to have 1+ Shot on Target
The main man in an attack for the visitors is Alexsandar Mitrovic. The Serbian has been in magical form upon returning to the Premier League for Fulham and has scored 3 goals in 3 games. On top of this, he has had 15 shots in total, 8 of which on target, averaging 2.66 SoT’s per game. These quite eye opening statistics are the reason why I have added this to the bet builder. He has certainly already exceeded my expectations in terms of level of performance this campaign. Back in the 20/21 season, he only notched 3 times in the entire season, now needing just 1 more goal to exceed this particular record.
In addition to the above, in this game we aren’t even worried about Mitrovic hitting the back of the net, in fact just needing a shot on target. After seeing the main man in action a number of times already, this selection looks like a real solid pick. He’s up against tough opponents this weekend in Gabriel and William Saliba for Arsenal, with the latter in some seriously good form. Nevertheless, the opening fixture in which Fulham faced Liverpool, we saw Mitrovic dominate two of the best centre halves in the league – Virgil Van Dijk and Joel Matip. This gives us more than enough reason to side with this as he can often dominate the duels, especially aerial ones. In fact, he currently sits top of the ‘aerial battles won’ charts, winning 22 in the process and leading this by some way. If he can get on the end of a corner or set piece during this encounter then it’s safe to assume there’s a huge chance a shot on target can be achieved.
The vast majority of Fulham’s attacking output goes through Mitrovic. With him set to start as the lone striker once more, most chances are likely to fall his way. The added bonus of penalty taker can help here as well, if we look back at the game against Wolves last weekend, he missed the penalty but struck the ball on target. This is all we need within the 90 minutes and I feel at least a chance or two will fall his way in this game.
🎯
Prediction: Alexsandar Mitrovic to have 1+ Shot on Target
Over 1.5 Fulham Cards
Fulham have had at least 2 yellow cards in all 3 of their matches so far and I love a pick that poses a 100% winning record. This particular matchup is ideal as it’s extremely feasible the away side pick up a couple of bookings, particularly up against stronger opposition. I’ve also noticed a couple of offenders who have already picked up 2 bookings each already as well. Both full back, Kenny Tete and midfielder, Joao Palhinha are the pair, who between them have committed a combined total of 11 fouls. Whether Marco Silva decides to go with Tete or Mbabu on the right side of defence, both full back areas are positions we can see the away side picking up a caution. Two of Arsenal’s most fouled players so far this season are their wingers. Both Saka and Martinelli are set to start on the wings for Arsenal and have been fouled 13 times in total, therefore I feel this is an area that Fulham may well pick up a yellow card.
A couple of others often in and amongst the referee’s notebook are Harrison Reed and Alexsandar Mitrovic. Reed is set to partner Palhinha in the middle of the park and we regularly see central defensive midfielders being booked. This is mainly due to the high number of tackles they have to commit. Within this game there’s a distinct possibility they’ll be overrun in this department and in turn, a huge chance of numerous fouls committed. There’s every reason to believe one of the pair may be carded. In terms of the Serbian striker, well, it’s all about if he keeps his calm. We have often seen Mitrovic lose his cool in a number of situations over the years and this could well happen once again. Just looking back to last season in the Championship, the striker amassed 10 yellow cards in the season, a seriously high number for a forward.
Whatever the game state is throughout, I see the away side making a high number of fouls, in an attempt to stop some of Arsenal’s stars breaking the lines. This can comfortably lead to Fulham having 2 or more yellow cards in the game.
🟨
Prediction: Over 1.5 Fulham Cards
Written by an Andy verified content writer
18+ please gamble responsibly.
Back the 11/2 Arsenal v Fulham Bet Builder below ⬇️
🧾
Load the bet slip @ 6.55 at Paddy Power
Haven’t got a Paddy Power account? You’re in luck…
Sign up to Paddy Power and get a full refund if your first bet loses. Grab an account through the offer below and place £30 on the 11/2 Arsenal v Fulham Bet Builder. Here are the two possible outcomes:
✅
You win £196.50 cash if it wins
🔄
Or you get your £30 stake back as cash
* I recommend waiting for confirmed team line-ups before placing any bets *
Predicted Line-ups
Arsenal predicted XI (4-2-3-1) : Ramsdale; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Thomas, Xhaka; Saka, Odegaard, Martinelli; Gabriel Jesus
Fulham predicted XI 4-2-3-1) : Leno; Tete, Adarabioyo, Ream, Robinson; Reed, Palhinha; Stansfield, Pereira, Cordova-Reid; Mitrovic
* All odds displayed correct at the time of publishing *
How to watch Arsenal v Fulham in the Premier League
📅 When is Arsenal v Fulham? / Saturday, 27th August 2022, 17:30
🏟 Where is Arsenal v Fulham? / Emirates Stadium (London)
📺 What TV channel is Arsenal v Fulham on? / Sky Sports Main Event
🟨 …And who is the referee for Arsenal v Fulham? / J. Gillett 🇦🇺
