Fulham vs Crystal Palace Predictions

• Fulham suffered a seventh defeat of the campaign on Tuesday
• The Cottagers have lost all their meetings with the top four
• Palace are fifth after picking up another win on Wednesday
• The Eagles are fourth in the Expected Goals table

Fulham fall to another top side

Fulham threatened Man City in their 5-4 defeat on Tuesday night, pushing the Citizens after falling 5-1 down. That was the Cottagers’ seventh defeat of the campaign, and their fourth loss in four meetings with the current top four.

Both Arsenal and Manchester City have won at Craven Cottage, while Fulham’s four home wins have come against two of the three promoted clubs, Brentford, and bottom-side Wolves.

The betting markets give Crystal Palace a slight edge in Sunday’s clash, but the Eagles are keeping pace with the league’s top sides. Could they be the latest team to prove too strong for Fulham?

Palace remain in the top four race

Crystal Palace had a scare at Turf Moor in midweek, but they departed with a 1-0 win. The Eagles are only three points shy of the top four, while they boast the fourth-best record in terms of underlying numbers.

Fixture congestion will hit Palace hard this month, as they face the busiest December of any Premier League side. Sunday kicks off a run of 11 matches across four competitions in just 34 days, a real test of a Palace side that failed to add significant squad depth in the summer.

While fatigue will make Palace a target for bettors in the weeks to come, Sunday’s clash does look well-timed. Thursday’s trip to Dublin to face Shelbourne is the start of a run of five games in 12 days, but there’s a bit of time either side of this visit to Craven Cottage for Oliver Glasner to work with.

Mateta can help the Eagles to victory

Fulham generated just 0.9 xG in their loss to City, while their 2-1 win at Tottenham saw them create a limited 0.4 xG. Across their last nine league games, the Cottagers have edged out only Sunderland and Wolves in terms of the quality of chances created.

While the Eagles are looking tired, they seem to be confident in their ability to get out in front and protect a lead. Palace have won six of the nine games in which they took the lead this term, while Fulham have lost five of the eight games where they’ve conceded first.

Jean-Philippe Mateta can make the difference against a Fulham side who lack a goalscorer of his calibre. The French forward has seven goals in 14 games, while he had two shots on target at Burnley in midweek. The striker has only scored once despite racking up 2.0 xG across his last four games, so back him to take a chance against a Fulham side who gave up too many chances in midweek.