3rd May 2013 | Football
Martin Jol’s Fulcrum
Fulham are almost mathematically safe but where would they be without Dimitar Berbatov.
Sat in 11th place on 40 points, Fulham should secure their place in the Premier League for another season, but if it wasn’t for their Bulgarian striker they could have been in massive trouble.
Alternative Form Table
Using the criteria set out in our ‘Shots On Target’ feature, each week we analyse the recent set of Premier League fixtures to see if the scorelines were a fair reflection of the games.
Fulham are languishing near the bottom of our alternative form table, with performances in their last eight matches meriting a meagre 4 points. However this isn’t just a short term blip.
Fulham Shots on Target
In the second half of the season, Fulham have struggled to exert any sort of dominance in their matches. In their last 19 games they’ve registered more shots on target than their opponents only twice and that was by the slenderest of margins against West Ham and Stoke.
The problem becomes even more drastic when you remove Dimitar Berbatov from the equation. The Bulgarian has scored in six of Fulham’s ten victories this season and you have to go back to 10 December 2012 to find the last time Fulham won without him finding the net.
Fulham are a best price 3/4 (BetVictor) to beat Reading this weekend and 11/5 (Betfred) to win with Berbatov scoring in the match.
Odds correct at time of publishing: 11:10 3rd May, 2013 but subject to change
