Arsenal have the opportunity to open up; a six-point lead at the Premier League summit and put pressure on Manchester City when they host Fulham, but it could be a cagey contest at the Emirates on Saturday.
The final game of Saturday’s Premier League schedule sees leaders Arsenal attempting to extend their advantage over Manchester City to six points when they host Fulham at the Emirates Stadium (5.30pm kick-off).
City will have two games in hand by Saturday night, but putting the points on the board before those matches take place would be a major psychological advantage for the Gunners.
If Mikel Arteta’s side slip up, however, it would provide a huge incentive for their title rivals.
The complication for the hosts is that the game comes in between the two legs of their Champions League semi-final against Atletico Madrid, while Fulham have no such concerns, having had a full week off since their 1-0 win over Aston Villa.
We have selected a football betting Bet Builder on the match that pays out at 11/1 if successful.
Arsenal v Fulham Bet Builder
Fulham can hamper Arsenal title hopes
Arsenal have had a fantastic season and are still in the hunt for a Premier League and Champions League double, but their win percentage has dipped in recent weeks and they have been successful in just two of their last eight matches.
A home league game against Fulham is simpler on paper than some of those they have tripped up in, such as their league and cup meetings with Manchester City, but they have also been denied victory by Bournemouth in the league and Southampton in the FA Cup and Fulham might fancy their chances of picking up a point and shaking up the title race.
The Cottagers thwarted Aston Villa with a 1-0 home success last week and have been beaten in only one of their last five games.
While the stakes are high in this contest, Arteta may also want to make a few changes with Tuesday’s second leg against Atletico in mind and any lack of focus from the hosts could be punished by Fulham.
The Cottagers have lost only two of their last five meetings with the Gunners and have picked up a point on two of their last four visits to the Emirates.
Leg 1: Draw @ 3/1
Entertainment value could be low
It’s likely to be a nervy contest at the Emirates, especially if the hosts are unable to make an early breakthrough. Fulham are no strangers to low-scoring games, with six of their last seven matches producing under 2.5 goals.
The only time the Cottagers have scored more than once in that time was a 3-1 home win over back-markers Burnley, while the only team to score twice against them were Liverpool in a 2-0 defeat at Anfield.
Arsenal average more than two goals per home league game this season, but they have not scored more than once in any of their last eight matches, with both their recent wins being 1-0 victories, over Sporting and Newcastle.
A Leandro Trossard goal was enough to give Arsenal the points in the first league meeting between the teams in October and this could be another tight affair.
Leg 2: Under 2.5 goals @ 1/1
Corner count could rise
Even if the goals do not flow, there should be plenty of knocking at the door and the first match between the teams produced a particularly high total of 16 corners, with Arsenal taking 10 of them.
Three of Fulham’s last four games have generated double-figure corner tallies, while Arsenal have averaged 8.6 corners on their own in their last five home games.
Leg 3: Over 9.5 corners @ 7/10
Sides should be well behaved
There were no cards shown at all in the Craven Cottage meeting between the teams this season and neither side have received more than two cautions in any of their respective last four matches.
Arsenal are rock-bottom of the table for Premier League yellow cards with just 45 in 34 games and another match with three or fewer cards seems likely.
Leg 4: Under 3.5 cards @ 31/40
