Fulham vs Southampton Prediction: The Saints are coming, but Fulham can cope

Premier League Fulham welcome Championship play-off hopefuls Southampton to Craven Cottage in the fifth round of the FA Cup (12:00GMT, TNT Sports). The hosts have never won this competition, reaching the final in 1975, one year before Southampton’s sole success in 1976.

Keep reading for my Fulham vs Southampton predictions.

Team News

Fulham forward Kevin will be out for several weeks following surgery on his fifth metatarsal. The injury occurred in the 3-1 win over Sunderland last month.

Harry Wilson missed the 1-0 defeat to West Ham with a minor problem but is understood to be in contention for this game.

Southampton will be without Nathan Boot, who is recovering from a broken ankle.

Football Odds

Fulham vs Southampton Odds

The Premier League outfit are 4/7 for a home win while the visiting Saints are priced at 9/2. The draw is on the market at 10/3.

Raul Jimenez is 7/2 to score first or 19/20 to do so any time. Fulham are 15/8 to win to nil.

Fulham to win and both teams to score @ 15/8

There is a lot of backing for Southampton to pull off the upset here. The Saints are on a rip-roaring run in the Championship. But as they found out last season, the gap between England’s top-two divisions is as wide as ever.

Fulham have been a mixed bag but they are the epitome of midtable security in 10th in the Premier League. A 1-0 loss to relegation-threatened West Ham last weekend was a stumble, but they didn’t blink while putting Tottenham Hotspur and Sunderland to the sword before that.

Fulham have seen goals at both ends in seven of their last 10 outings. Southampton have bagged 13 in their last four outings. But the hosts are no struggling, relegation-bound outfit. They are a top-flight team on merit and I think, while they will concede, they will ultimately win.

Alex Iwobi to score anytime @ 12/5

Fulham are a team whose goals are spread throughout the squad. With top-scorer Harry Wilson an injury doubt and next-best hitman Raul Jimenez having scored in just one of his past five outings, I’m backing Alex Iwobi.

The ex-Arsenal man has bagged in two of his last three games. While those goals comprise half of his goal total for the season, the midfielder appears to be hitting his scoring stride. Iwobi got nine goals last season. Could we see the Nigeria international playing his way into that sort of form?

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