An Upset On The Cards In Sunderland, Fulham Clash?

Sunderland have only picked up one point in their last five Premier League games and will hope to secure a confidence-boosting win over Fulham in the FA Cup fourth round tomorrow. Championship side Fulham are, however, on the up having won both of their last two matches against mid-table opposition and will be confident of grabbing the victory on the road.

The Black Cats brushed past their second tier opponents in the competition`s third stage, Leeds United crumbling in the face of Gus Poyet`s men. Patrick van Aanholt will be proud of his left-footed strike in what was the only goal of the match at the Stadium of Light.

Not everything went to plan for Poyet`s men, however, as Jack Rodwell was substituted after picking up an injury. This caused him to miss his side`s home defeat at Liverpool but returned in time for their game away at Spurs last weekend. This match-up finished 2-1 to the home side with Sebastian Larsson the only player on the scoresheet for the Tyneside club.

Whilst Fulham also received a bye into the third round, Kit Symons` men have played two games after a goalless draw at home to Wolves saw his side travel to Molineux for the replay.

Cauley Woodrow opened the scoring for the Whites in the first quarter of an hour and the match remained 1-0 until Dave Edwards hit the back of the net with 20 minutes still to play. Rajiv van La Parra saw Wolves lead two goals to one but Woodrow got Fulham back on terms a matter of moments later.

As a result of normal time ending 2-2, the two clubs were forced to play an extra half an hour. Edwards` completed his brace to put the Midlands club 3-2 to the good but Ross McCormack converted a spot kick to send the fixture to the lottery of penalties.

The Londoners came out on top, the short round ending 5-3 to the visitors.

There are many things playing to Sunderland`s advantage and they are the clash`s 4/6 favourites with most bookmakers. Again, a plethora of turf accounts have Fulham at 3/1 to play out their second consecutive FA Cup draw. Otherwise, they are 24/5 to win outright with betfair.

Sunderland haven`t won at the Stadium of Light in the league since the first week of October, having picked up only three points at home since that result. They will be looking to utilise new signing Jermaine Defoe as they aim to make it two home wins from two in the FA Cup, the former England international available at 13/10 (32red, 888sport, Betvictor, unibet) to hit the back of the net at any time.

Fulham have scored seven goals in their last three games in all competitions and with a number of the Black Cats` first-teamers expected to be missing tomorrow, it might be a good idea to back both teams to score at 22/23 (888sport, unibet).

Sidelined for Sunderland tomorrow are defender Wes Brown (knee) and vital defensive midfield component Lee Cattermole (knee) alongside in-form winger Adam Johnson (calf).

In positive news for the home team, however, Liam Bridcutt is available for selection after missing the Spurs game following his sending off at Liverpool.

Such defensive re-arrangements mean that betfair have the Mackems at 8/13 to not keep a clean sheet whilst a home win to nil can be picked up at 9/5 with Betvictor.

There may also be alterations to the Cottagers midfield as captain Scott Parker is yet to recover from a ankle knock he sustained in the side`s 3-2 victory over Nottingham Forest, whilst Lasse Vigen Christiansen is set to return.

Go To bet365

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23/01/2015     © Frixo 2024