Craven Cottage clash: Two winless outfits hunting first points

Two sides still searching for their first points of the campaign meet at Craven Cottage in the early hours of Sunday morning, with Fulham hosting Crystal Palace at 12:00 am AEST. Both outfits have opened with a pair of losses, but the narratives around those defeats tell different stories — and punters have taken a view on which side is closer to breaking through.

Fulham sit 16th on the ladder with zero points from two starts, having scored two goals and conceded four. Palace are even further adrift in 18th, pointless after shipping six goals and managing just one in reply. Yet it's the visitors who have attracted the late support, firming from $3 into $2.95 in the past 24 hours despite that horror defensive start.

Who takes the spoils?

Fulham's two defeats have both been tight affairs. They fell 2–3 at home to Chelsea on Tue, 25 Aug, then went down 0–1 away to Sunderland last Sunday. Coming off that Sunderland loss, the hosts will be looking to finally get on the board in front of their own fans, but the quality of their opposition in those opening fixtures makes it hard to draw firm conclusions about their standing.

Palace, meanwhile, have endured a rougher baptism. After losing 0–2 away to Everton on Sun, 23 Aug, they were thumped 1–4 at home by Manchester City last Saturday — a hiding that would test any side's confidence. Yet the market has moved in their favour, suggesting punters see value in the visitors despite that six-goal haemorrhage across two rounds.

The two sides have yet to meet this season, so recent head-to-head history isn't available to frame the contest. Instead, we're left weighing ladder positions that are almost identical — both winless, both struggling to keep clean sheets — against a price move that hints at Palace being the more resilient of the two outfits. The match-winner market has Fulham at $2.25, the draw at $3.40, and Palace at $2.95 after that recent firming.

The line yarn

The line market has Fulham laying a single goal, with the hosts priced at $4.60 to cover -1 and Palace getting a goal start at $1.65. That's a punchy quote for a side that has scored just twice in two outings and is coming off a goalless loss at Sunderland.

Palace have conceded heavily — six goals across two matches — but they've also faced Manchester City and Everton, two sides expected to challenge near the top of the table. Whether Fulham possess the firepower to exploit those defensive frailties is the central question. The visitors have scored only once themselves, so this shapes as a contest between two misfiring attacks rather than a goal fest waiting to unfold.

How many goals at Craven Cottage?

The total is set at 2.5 goals, with the over priced at $1.73 and the under at $1.98. Fulham have been involved in four goals across their two starts (two scored, four conceded), while Palace have seen seven goals in their fixtures (one scored, six conceded). That's an average combined total north of three goals per match for the visitors, though the quality of their opponents skews that sample.

With both defences leaking and both attacks sputtering, the over looks the play if you believe one side can finally find their range. The under gets a look if you think nerves and desperation for a first clean sheet will tighten things up. Our epl tips lean towards goals — two sides chasing a breakthrough can produce open, end-to-end affairs.

Same Game Multi angles

The Same Game Multi board offers a few priced combos worth noting. Jonah Kusi-Asare to score anytime, Crystal Palace to win & BTTS is on offer at $11, while Jean-Philippe Mateta to score anytime, Fulham to win & Over 3.5 goals sits at $10. Another intriguing combo has Jean-Philippe Mateta to score anytime, draw & BTTS at $7, reflecting the tight nature of the contest. The Mateta-draw combo without the BTTS leg is also priced at $7, offering a cleaner route if you fancy the Frenchman on the scoresheet in a stalemate.