Fulham vs Reading

May 3, 2013
By: Nemanja Lazarevic

AFulham will see the game against rock bottom side in the Premier League as a perfect opportunity to end their five-match winless streak and ensure they end this season on a high after all. Reading are winless in last eleven, but it is not as if they can be expected to end the barren at the Craven Cottage.

Busy summer on the cards

Even if the team have secured Premier League survival with eight games to spare, club chiefs cannot really be satisfied with the outcome of this season. A top table finish would be considered a decent result, but Martin Jol and his men will feel as if they could have picked up quite a few points more. Considering the quality of the squad at his disposal, the Dutch manager hasn’t quite managed to get the maximum out of his players, although numerous injuries and suspensions created serious problems for the squad clearly lacking strength in depth. The latest five-match winless run shows that the Cottagers are going through a very rough patch, but home game against hapless Reading will be seen as a great opportunity to return to winning ways. Fulham have managed to defeat almost all relegation strugglers at home this season so the trend is likely to continue against the weakest side in the league. The hosts will be without star striker Dimitar Berbatov, but they will have several important players back to the side.

Berbatov and Sidwell miss out through injury and suspension respectively, but Damien Duff, Sascha Riether and Kieran Richardson should return.

No cure for travel sickness

Reading have battled bravely to escape the straight return to the Championship, but it ultimately came down to the lack of quality within the squad. It was clear early on that the squad hadn’t been properly strengthened in the summer, but credit to Brian McDermott and his players for keeping their survival dream alive for so long. I was really surprised to see the now Leeds United manager get the sack, and, as expected, Nigel Adkins could do little to help the Royals improve on their performances. With the team losing nine of last eleven fixtures and only sharing spoils at home with Liverpool and QPR, they have reached a point of no return, and they should now be preparing for another season in the Championship. While showing some promise at home, Reading have been utterly disappointing on the travels, losing last six away games in all competitions, and that is another reason why I seriously doubt they can get anything from Craven Cottage, even though their opponents are not exactly on top of their game at the moment.

Hope Akpan and Adam Federici are in line for return, but Jimmy Kebe and Jason Roberts continue to miss out.

Verdict

Fulham may be out of form at the moment, but sheer quality and a little bit of help from the fans should prove enough to defeat bottom-placed Reading. Having lost last six matches on the road, the Royals look powerless to resist yet another defeat, while I wouldn’t be surprised if the Cottagers win with goals to spare.

Top pick: Home win   1.75 (3/4) @ BetVictor

Alternative pick 1: Fulham/Fulham   2.70 (17/10) @ Betfair

Alternative pick 2: Fulham to win to nil   3.25 (9/4) @ Coral

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