Fulham VS Cardiff City Match Prediction
2020-07-30
18:45:00
Fulham
VS
Cardiff City
Our Prediction Tip
Fulham will win this match.
2020-07-3018:45:00 Fulham will win this match.
Fulham have beaten Cardiff 2-0 twice this month, once in the league and once in the play-offs. Aleksandr Mitrovic opened the scoring in the league game before Josh Onomah’s second-half strike, while it was Onomah who scored first last time out and Neeskens Kebano added a second. The league meeting in Cardiff, a full 11 months ago, ended in a 1-1 draw – Mitrovic cancelling out Josh Murphy’s opener. Here are the results of their last five meetings:
Jul 27, 2020: Cardiff City 0-2 Fulham
Jul 10, 2020: Fulham 2-0 Cardiff City
Aug 30, 2019: Cardiff City 1-1 Fulham
Apr 27, 2019: Fulham 1-0 Cardiff
Oct 20, 2018: Cardiff City 4-2 Fulham
Even without talisman Aleksandr Mitrovic, Fulham did the job in the away leg to put themselves on the brink of the play-off final.
Two brilliant goals mean Fulham are in full control of this tie, and with Mitrovic potentially back for this game too, a professional job at home will seal their place at Wembley.
Scott Parker’s side have beaten Cardiff twice this month and recovered well from missing out on automatic promotion to win the first leg.
Neeskens Kebano has hit some goalscoring form in recent matches, and Josh Onomah now has a goal in each of his last two matches against the Bluebirds too.
Neil Harris has been keen to point out that this tie is not over yet, but he will know realistically that Cardiff needed a big first leg performance and did not get it.
It would be a surprise if the hosts sat back on their 2-0 lead as well – they will want to carry some momentum into their play-off final and this is a good opportunity to do so.
With or without Mitrovic, they can seal the deal with a home win and they are favourites for good reason.
Fulham are favourites to win this second leg and can be backed at evens with 888sport, Paddy Power and Betway.
You can only get 1/33 from Bet365 on them reaching Wembley though, which shows the commanding position they are now in.
Instead, having won their last two games against Cardiff to nil, you can back them at 11/5 with Bet365 to win to nil again.
If Aleksandr Mitrovic returns, he is a best price of 13/10 to score at any time with Bet365. Neeskens Kebano is in good goalscoring form, meanwhile, and he is 19/5 with 888sport.
Fulham are in firm control of this tie and can take a step closer to an immediate return to the Premier League by sealing aggregate success with a home win too.
Aleksandr Mitrovic could return after missing out with a minor injury in the first leg. Scott Parker’s only big injury concern therefore is Ivan Cavaleiro – with the exception of Mitrovic for Bobby Reid, it could otherwise be an unchanged team.
Aleksandr Mitrovic – Scored the opener when these teams met in the league early this month and he has 26 goals in total this season.
Neeskens Kebano – Four goals in the last three games, including his stunning first-leg free-kick, make him the man in form.
Josh Onomah – Opened the scoring in the first leg, with an excellent solo goal, having already scored against Cardiff this month when they met in the league
Fulham missed out on automatic promotion after drawing with Wigan on the final day of the season – Neeskens Kebano scoring their equaliser – but they stretched their unbeaten run to eight matches with a 2-0 win in the first leg of this fixture. Joshua Onomah and Neeskens Kebano scored their goals.
Greg Cunningham is back in training but the long-term absentee is unlikely to be thrown straight in for this one. Isaac Vassell is still sidelined, but Neil Harris does have options for change – Josh Murphy and Calum Paterson were among the players on the bench for the first leg.
Josh Murphy – Pushing for a recall after scoring twice in Cardiff’s last away win, at Middlesbrough. He has five goals in total this season.
Sean Morrison – Leads the defence but also key at the other end having scored in each of the two matches at the end of the regular season.
Alex Smithies – Cardiff will have to go for this, leaving them exposed at the back. It could require a big performance from the goalkeeper in the key moments at the other end.
Cardiff ended the regular season with three consecutive wins, seeing off Middlesbrough 3-1 last time they were on the road – Sean Morrison opening the scoring before Josh Murphy’s double – and then Hull 3-0 at home. Junior Hoilett, Morrison and Dan Ward scored in the latter. Their winning streak ended in the first leg of these play-offs, however, with their 2-0 loss.
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