Having suffered a last-gasp defeat at Newcastle on Sunday thanks to a Papiss Cisse goal, Fulham are now offered a chance to return to the form that harvested a run of five games unbeaten prior to their trip to Tyneside. Martin Jol’s side travel to Villa Park this Saturday before entertaining London rivals Chelsea the following Wednesday – bearing in mind the Cottagers have taken four points and returned two clean sheets against their upcoming opponents, confidence in their Fantasy assets will be high. Indeed, with three home games in the following four to follow (ARS, REA, LIV), the upcoming schedule looks kind for Jol’s men:
The Prospects
Despite scoring just three goals in their last five road trips, Fulham will be confident of finding the net away to Villa. The hosts have conceded in each of their last 16 league matches and seem incapable of keeping out their opponents; encouraging signs for the Cottagers, then, given they have drawn blanks in three of the previous five on the road. Fulham’s chances of a clean sheet look unlikely, though; with Christian Benteke rattling in 10 goals in his last 12, the visitors have a hard task on their hands but, as their 1-0 win at White Hart Lane in Gameweek 30 showed, they are more than capable of upsetting the odds.
In front of their own fans, Fulham have lost just one of the last five – a narrow 1-0 defeat at the hands of United. Jol’s side have registered three wins and a draw over those fixtures, including victories over West Ham, Stoke and QPR – bearing in mind that Chelsea have picked up just one point (away to Reading) in their last four away games, the Cottagers have reason for optimism, though a derby tends to through the form book out the window.
The Likely Lads
Mark Schwarzer’s consistency of selection makes the shot-stopper an obvious contender ahead of the double. With many clubs rotating or blighted by injuries between the sticks, the Australian is nailed-on by comparison and so far this season has supplemented seven clean sheets with three penalty saves. Schwarzer sits sixth in the keeper standings on 112 points; just five points short of his best season since 2009/10.
The attacking potential of Sascha Riether has come to the fore in recent matches. Fulham’s raiding right-back has been in sparkling form, producing a goal and a couple of assists, in addition to five bonus points over his last five appearances. Like Schwarzer, he comes in at 5.1 in FPL and with two clean sheets also thrown, he’s registered double figures twice from Gameweek 27 onwards – so far this week, he’s second only to a certain Bulgarian for transfers in amongst Jol’s side.
There’s no doubt his season has somewhat slowed after a superb opening couple of months but Damien Duff remains on the radar for the Cottagers’ double. With three goals and eight assists to his name this term, the Irishman is Fulham’s second highest scoring outfield player in FPL, having accrued 100 points – with a security of starts unquestioned, a price of 5.8 is kind on the budget, too.
With five goals and 11 bonus points in the last five Gameweeks, Dimitar Berbatov has climbed up the Fantasy standings ahead of the Cottagers’ double. The Bulgarian has been Fulham’s top performer by some distance – 13 goals and four assists over 26 appearances since moving from United last summer. Intriguingly, Fulham have lost just one of the 13 matches in which Berbatov has scored or assisted this season; highlighting just how crucial his contribution will be.
Cheeky Punt
Similar to Duff, John Arne Riise’s season has failed to push on after a scintillating start. Four assists in the opening eight Gameweeks had Fantasy managers scrambling to get on board the bandwagon but since then, he’s teed up just one more for the Cottagers. Crucially, though, this arrived in Fulham’s previous home game and with three clean sheets thrown in over the last six, the 5.2 priced left-back offers a definite alternative to Riether for those eyeing up investment at the back.
So far this season, only five other forwards have bettered the eight assists delivered by Bryan Ruiz. Tucking in behind Berbatov in “the hole”, the Costa Rican seems more content with orchestrating play than finding the net – he’s scored just twice in 22 appearances this season but at 5.0 in FPL, may appeal to those on the hunt for a cut-price cheap third forward.
