Fulham vs Derby Predictions, Betting Tips and Match Previews

This is one of the most interesting fixtures of the weekend between two sides who certainly look like top six contenders. The bookies make Fulham clear favourites but you wouldn’t bet against Derby right now.

The Rams are the form team in the Championship with 7 straight league wins coming into this game following a late Tom Ince winner at Loftus Road on Wednesday night. Just a few miles across West London, they’ll be hopeful of extending it to 8 wins on the spin but that won’t be easy against a strong Fulham side.

Steve McClaren’s men should be capable of getting at least a point though. Even under Nigel Pearson, Derby were defending well and with just 0.62 goals per game conceded this term, they boast the joint best defensive record in the division. However, what the former England boss has managed to do is greatly improve their attacking threat without sacrificing their defensive steel. Their last 5 wins have all been to nil so the defence is still doing its job. Ince has been their main attacking weapon and he’s netted 6 goals in 6 games coming into this, so backing Tom Ince to score anytime at 11/5 looks a tempting bet here.

Fulham will offer Derby a much greater challenge than QPR did in midweek. They’ve scored 11 goals in their last 3 games alone and have the division’s joint 2nd best goal-scoring record but they haven’t come up against as proficient a defence as Derby’s before. At the other end there are certainly still cracks for the Rams to exploit though. Fulham have kept only 2 clean sheets in their last 12 home games and they have only won 36% of their Championship home games this term, which isn’t a great record for a side in their position in the league.

Given that and given Derby are on a stunning run of form, there looks to be real value here to be found by backing Double Chance – Draw or Derby at 7/10.