EFL Cup: Fulham Are Still Alive And Kicking

Fulham vs Liverpool

EFL Cup favourites Liverpool are bound for Craven Cottage on Wednesday when they meet Fulham in the semi-final second leg with the tie still very much in the balance.

Jurgen Klopp’s Reds won the first leg 2-1 and are at SBOTOP odds of 1.72 to do the double and march to Wembley for the showcase final in February. But Marco Silva’s Fulham are still in the game and are a hard side to read at times, beating title hopefuls one week and then losing games they’d expect to win the next.  

The Cottagers come into the game on the back of a 1-0 defeat away to Chelsea while Liverpool thumped Bournemouth 4-0 at the Vitality Stadium. Both teams are in FA Cup action at the weekend; Fulham at home to Newcastle United and Liverpool at home to Norwich City.

It’s a packed agenda but this tie is a biggie…every fan wants a trip to Wembley and they are now just 100 minutes away.         

Talking Points

Fine margins cost Fulham dearly

Since beating Arsenal on New Years Eve and negotiating their FA Cup Round Three clash against Rotherham Marco Silva’s team has lost twice, once in the first leg of this tie and then, at the weekend, Fulham’s visit to Chelsea was decided by a penalty converted by Carlton Cole in first half injury time. The Cottagers had more shots on target but they couldn’t break the Blues’ defence down and that made it four league defeats in five, before which Fulham whacked West Ham United 5-0.

The Cottagers’ performances have been better than their results. They were really impressive when they met Liverpool in the league and only when Trent Alexander-Arnold scored an 88^th minute winner did they finally succumb. And in the first leg of this tie the Cottagers led for much of the game until quick-fire goals from Curtis Jones and Cody Gakpo turned the match on its head.

Silva will put out as strong a side as he can, with Calvin Bassey and Alex Iwobi away at the Africa Cup of Nations. Palhinha will lead the midfield, where Fulham will aim to stop the supply to Liverpool’s strikers, and he will be partnered by Harrison Reed or Tom Cairney, while former Liverpool youngster Harry Wilson, who can play out wide as a replacement for Iwobi, will be pushing for a start.        

Nunez will be itching to play   

The EFL Cup 2024 betting odds price Liverpool at 1.10 to make it through this semi-final and they are hot favourites to win the first silverware of the season, but Klopp will match Silva with a strong side and I suspect he will see the upcoming match against Norwich as an opportunity to rest players.  

We expected goals when Liverpool met Bournemouth on Sunday but not necessarily all in one end but Liverpool’s front men were outstanding in the second half. Darwin Nunez is loved by the Reds fans, despite not scoring as many goals as he or they would like but he showed just what he could do against the Cherries and he’ll be confident of making some more EFL Cup 2024 highlights if he gets the nod.

Nunez has made plenty of assists this term but he grabbed an impressive double on Sunday, the second a clever finish in injury time and there were two goals also for Diogo Jota, who was preferred to Cody Gakpo, with Mo Salah away at AFCON. 

Gakpo, who has already scored four goals in the competition, will hope to start against Fulham and either Jota or Luis Diaz could make way, while in midfield Dominik Szoboszlai is nearing a return after shaking off a hamstring injury.  

History

With 21 wins to seven Liverpool have had much the better of their encounters with Fulham and they have won the last three, including the first leg of this tie and the 4-3 thriller at Anfield in December.

In terms of recent form the Cottagers have been patchy, winning two and losing four while the Reds come into the game on the back of a five match winning run.  

Betting Tip

Fulham are priced at 3.78 to get the win they so desperately want while the Double Chance, Fulham or Draw is at 2.11; so Silva’s boys have an uphill struggle. The Reds are five points clear at the top of the Premier League and have only lost once in domestic competition this season.

I think Liverpool will come through this tie but Fulham have shown twice they can push them hard and I expect the hosts to still be in the game when the second half starts.

 

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