West Brom could end Fulham's slim automatic promotion hopes and boost their own when they meet in the Sky Bet Championship. We look at the betting.
Both these in-form sides will be hoping they're not meeting again in the Sky Bet Championship play-offs in a couple of weeks' time having missed out on automatic promotion to the Premier League; West Brom more so than Fulham.
Albion's draw at Blackburn last time out ended a run of three straight wins and means a Brentford-sized juggernaut is breathing down their neck in the battle for a top-two spot. The Bees are just three points behind and with a vastly superior goal difference.
Fulham have won four successive games but sitting two points further adrift of Slaven Bilic's side, realistically they have too much to do with only three rounds of fixtures to play.
The Cottagers' have conceded just once during their winning run, while the Baggies have also tightened up at the back by keeping two clean sheets in that same stretch of games. With so much at stake, I just can't see this being a free-flowing, all guns blazing match so Under 2.5 Goals at Evens feels like a sensible way to go.
- Click image for the latest Sporting Life accumulator at an enhanced 22-1
For the same reasons, 0-0 at half-time at 15/8 is tempting, but it simply hasn't happened enough for either side since lockdown for me to be comfortable backing it with anything other than a small stake. Fulham began the restarted campaign by conceding twice late on in a 2-0 home defeat by Brentford, while West Brom were held to a goalless draw by Birmingham. In their 10 fixtures since, just one has been goalless at the break.
West Brom simply cannot afford to lose this match, and as a consequence I simply cannot look past the draw at 5/2.
With Fulham's form on the road so strong too - their solitary defeat in 10 away trips was an undeserved 3-0 loss to Leeds - I don't see them losing this one.
Prediction: West Brom 1-1 Fulham (Sky Bet odds: 5/1)
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