Erratic Bournemouth and Fulham set for stalemate as European hopes stutter

13/04/2025 08:11

Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola and his Fulham counterpart Marco Silva are often hailed as two of the brightest managers in the Premier League, especially when their teams produce stunning results against the big guns.

Both clubs are pressing for a place Europe with the Cherries tenth in the table and the Cottagers two places above them ahead of their Monday night match on the south coast and both appear to be fixtures in the top-flight for many years to come.

But both are riddled with inconsistencies which are extremely baffling and difficult to comprehend.

Bournemouth were feted as being on the rise and on course for a top-six finish at the turn of the year with a 2-2 draw at Chelsea followed by a 4-1 triumph at Newcastle and a 5-0 success at home to Nottingham Forest.

But they have picked up just two points from their last six matches and all of a sudden the Emperor isn't wearing any clothes at all, let alone a football kit.

Meanwhile, Fulham have fared marginally better with three wins in their last eight matches in all competitions and were absolutely abysmal when rolling over in a 3-0 defeat at home to Crystal Palace in the FA Cup quarter-finals, only to beat leaders Liverpool next time out they were in front of their own fans. Huh?

When the two sides met at Craven Cottage at the end of December the match ended in a 2-2 draw and another share of the spoils is on the cards again at 27/10 with Bet Victor. 

The Cherries have scored in nine of their last ten matches while Fulham have hit the net in nine of their last 11 – both blanks being against the Eagles – so taking a 1-1 draw at 13/2 with bet365 and a 2-2 at 12/1 with the same firm should pay dividends.

• Victory for Coventry at Hull will send them above Bristol City into fifth place in the Championship and five points clear of West Brom, Middlesbrough and Millwall as the play-off face gets down to the nitty-gritty. A home win would send the Tigers above Portsmouth and Stoke and into 18th place and they would be five points clear of the bottom three but they have only won four times at home in the league with seven draws on home soil and a share of the spoils with the Sky Blues is 23/10 with Ladbrokes, Coral, William Hill and many others.

• Defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas hit seven double faults while losing in three sets to Lorenzo Musetti in the Monte Carlo Masters quarter-finals. He's clearly struggling for form since winning the Dubai Tennis Championship at the start of last month and is 14/5 with William Hill to drop a set against Reilly Opelka before advancing to the second round of this week’s Barcelona Open.

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