Fulham vs Southampton preview, team news, kick-off, prediction
Fulham could be without Ivan Cavaleiro; Southampton will be missing the suspended Oriol Romeu; watch Fulham vs Southampton on Sky Sports Premier League and Main Event from 2.30pm on Saturday; kick-off 3pm
Sunday 27 December 2020 11:24, UK
Team news and stats ahead of Fulham vs Southampton in the Premier League on Saturday, live on Sky Sports; kick-off 3pm.
Team news
Fulham could be without Ivan Cavaleiro for their Boxing Day clash with Southampton, with manager Scott Parker also absent from the dugout.
The forward pulled up in the warm-up before the Newcastle game and remains a doubt for the fixture while the manager is self-isolating after a member of his household returned a positive Covid-19 test.
Kenny Tete will be unlikely to feature after his wife gave birth while Terence Kongolo suffered a minor setback and is likely to be out for a further 10 days before being able to return to training. Mario Lemina is also ineligible to face his parent club but Joachim Andersen will be available after his red card against Newcastle was overturned.
Southampton have several selection concerns ahead of the trip to Craven Cottage, where they will be missing Oriol Romeu through suspension.
Striker Danny Ings (hamstring) and defender Jannik Vestergaard (knee) are doubts, along with winger Nathan Redmond, who is struggling with a hip problem.
Ghanaian centre-back Mohammed Salisu could be set to step in for a belated debut following a summer switch from Real Valladolid, having again been an unused substitute for the defeat by Manchester City.
How to follow
Live Premier League
Fulham vs Southampton will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Premier League and Main Event from 2.30pm on Saturday; kick-off at 3pm. Sky Sports customers can watch in-game clips in the live match blog on the Sky Sports website and app. Free highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel shortly after the final whistle.
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Jones Knows Prediction
Southampton have lost only one of their last 12 Premier League away games, at Crystal Palace on the opening day.
But they are unbackable at Fulham.
Ralph Hasenhuttl has established exceptional chemistry in key areas of his side with Oriol Romeu and James Ward-Prowse relentless in midfield and Jan Bednarek and Jannik Vestergaard an exceptional pairing at centre-back. However, the influential Romeu is suspended for this one with Ibrahima Diallo set for his first start and Vestergaard is a doubt, as is Danny Ings.
Hasenhuttl's squad depth will be stretched over the coming weeks and this looks a great opportunity for Fulham to turn some encouraging performances, at Newcastle especially, into a win.
JONES KNOWS PREDICTS: 2-1 (11/1 with Sky Bet)
Opta stats
- Fulham have lost just one of their seven Premier League home games against Southampton (W4 D2), winning 3-2 in their last such meeting in November 2018.
- Southampton have won three of their last four Premier League meetings with Fulham (L1), keeping a clean sheet in each victory. Saints had won just one of their first 10 games against Fulham in the competition (D6 L3), conceding in nine of those 10 matches.
- Fulham haven't won a home league game on Boxing Day since 2003, drawing three and losing one of their four such games since. However, their last victory at home on 26th December was in a Premier League match against Southampton (2-0).
- Southampton have won six of their last eight league games on Boxing Day (D1 L1), with their only defeat in that run coming at Tottenham in 2017 (2-5).
- Fulham have drawn each of their last three Premier League games, as many draws as they'd had in their previous 34 top-flight games (W7 D3 L24).
- Southampton lost their first two Premier League games against newly promoted teams under Ralph Hasenhüttl but have since won each of their last nine in a row. Saints have never won 10 in a row in the top-flight against newly promoted teams, also winning nine in a row between October 1979 and January 1981.
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