Fulham vs Leeds United: Cottagers can boost survival hopes with a victory in the capital
- Cameron Loftus
- 18 March 2021
Leeds are looking to end their London hoodoo against a relegation-threatened Fulham side who are seemingly on their way to climbing out of the bottom three.
When: Friday 19 March, 20:00 GMT
How to watch: Sky Sports
Best bets
Leeds' wretched London record
Leeds have not won a game in the capital since 2017 and the record started in this very fixture when the sides met in the 2017/18 Championship campaign.
In fact, the Whites' last win in London came two draws and 14 losses ago, when a Kemar Roofe hat-trick secured a 3-1 win against QPR.
Fast forward to 2021 and Leeds' last trip to London was a disappointing 2-0 loss at the hands of West Ham at the start of the month. Goals from Jesse Lingard and Craig Dawson were enough to see the Hammers comfortably defeat Leeds.
After a good performance against Chelsea, 12th-placed Leeds head back to London in search of that elusive win that will almost certainly guarantee their place in the Premier League next season.
They are priced at 19/10 (BetVictor) to end their barren winning run on Friday night.
Last three Premier League meetings:
Leeds 4-3 Fulham (September 19, 2020)
A seven-goal thriller between two newly-promoted sides showed both teams' attacking quality alongside their defensive frailties near the start of the season.
Since the meeting of the two sides, Fulham seem to have sorted their leaky defence out, but Leeds' four goals here emphasised their unpredictability from game to game.
In the Whites' first home game in the Premier League for 16 years, Helder Costa netted a brace to ensure the Elland Road team ended up on the right side of the scoreline. A penalty from Mateusz Klich and a well-placed effort from Patrick Bamford put Leeds into a 4-1 lead.
Leeds had only narrowly lost at Anfield the week before and Marcelo Bielsa's men showed that they had carried their impressive Championship form into the top flight.
Aleksander Mitrovic continued his rich vein in front of goal, with the striker netting twice. Bobby De Cordova-Reid scored Fulham's other goal, however it was not enough for Fulham, in what was a thoroughly entertaining fixture.
Fulham 2-0 Leeds (March 13, 2004)
You have to go back 16 years to find the last time these two teams faced off in the Premier League, with Fulham running out 2-0 winners at their temporary home, Loftus Road.
The loss for Leeds dragged them closer towards relegation whereas Fulham were chasing a top-half finish.
This was the fourth Premier League game in a row that the Whites had failed to score and Fulham capitalised on the away side's poor form.
Goals in the last 20 minutes from Sean Davis and Luis Boa Morte guaranteed victory for Chris Coleman's team. Simon Johnson did hit the bar for Leeds, but it still would not have changed the outcome of the game.
Leeds 3-2 Fulham (December 14, 2003)
The earlier meeting that season of Leeds and Fulham resulted in a hectic game at Elland Road. Leeds took the spoils in front of 30,000 fans.
The Yorkshire team took the lead when left-back Ian Harte had his free-kick saved, only for the ball to fall at the feet of fellow defender Michael Duberry, who it's fair to say did not know too much about the goal.
The second half also started well for Leeds, Mark Viduka curled in a superb individual effort from 20 yards out to put the home team in control.
Fulham striker Louis Saha managed to peg Leeds back straight from kick-off, striking a right-footed shot low into the corner of the goal.
Saha was in a confident mood and found himself in space once again outside the box and another low shot could not be kept out by Paul Robinson.
The game took one final turn when another Harte set-piece caused havoc in the Fulham area and centre-back Dominic Matteo was left unmarked to head home his first Premier League goal to give Leeds United the win.
Head-to-head in the Premier League
Played: 7
Fulham wins: 3
Drawn: 1
Leeds wins: 3
Fulham scored: 9
Leeds scored: 9
The great Fulham escape?
Since a 2-0 loss against Leicester City at the start of February, Scott Parker has led his team to a run of three wins and three draws in eight matches. The two losses have come against runaway leaders Manchester City and top four hopefuls Tottenham Hotspur.
Fulham's last eight Premier League matches:
D 0-0 West Ham (H)
W 2-0 Everton (A)
D 1-1 Burnley (A)
W 1-0 Sheffield United (H)
D 0-0 Crystal Palace (A)
L 1-0 Tottenham (H)
W 1-0 Liverpool (A)
L 3-0 Manchester City (H)
These results have contributed towards a huge turn around in form and given the Cottagers belief that they do have enough in their ranks to stay up. They go into the game only two points from safety and with a couple of teams above them struggling to pick up results, survival is a distinct possibility.
Within these eight games, Fulham have kept five clean sheets, which is certainly above average for a team that finds itself in 18th position. Goalkeeper Alphonse Areola has been in inspired form along with the centre-back pairing of Joachim Andersen and Tosin Adarabioyo as Scott Parker has focused on shoring up his defence over the past few months.
Fulham will know that if they keep this form up, they have every chance of staying up, and the fixture against Leeds provides an excellent opportunity to get another win on the board, in what is going to be an intriguing relegation battle.
Score prediction: Fulham 2-1 Leeds United
Both teams come into this game in patchy form, but this game holds more importance to Scott Parker and his men. For that reason, we think that the home side will prevail.
Coupled with Leeds' utterly dismal form in the capital, Fulham are tipped to take home the all important three points. Leeds have not been their usual free-scoring selves recently and may not have enough in attack to get anything from the game.
Although the two sides drew blanks at the weekend, this is expected to be an open affair and it would not be a huge surprise to see both teams score.
A win for Fulham would ease their fears of relegation, especially with tough games against Aston Villa, Wolves, Arsenal and Chelsea in the coming weeks. The London club will certainly see this as an opportunity to get more points on the board before the international break.
Goalscorer bets
Leeds midfielder Raphinha has been a shining light in their season so far and has caused problems for many Premier League defences. He has an eye for goal and will be confident of getting on the scoresheet.
Joachim Andersen earned himself a nomination for Premier League Player of the Month in February. He is a threat from corners and matched with Leeds' weakness from defending set-pieces, there is a chance he could pop up with a goal.
