Fulham vs Newcastle Prediction: Drab stalemate at Craven Cottage?

We’ve got an all Premier League encounter to look forward to on Saturday night as Fulham host Newcastle United (19:00) in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

Having narrowly missed out on a place in the Carabao Cup final in midweek, Fulham will be desperate to avoid a double cup disappointment here, while Newcastle also proved their cup pedigree when they reached the Carabao Cup final last season. 

Below we have previewed this clash and put forward a couple of betting selections for you to consider. 

Team News

Adama Traore is still out with a thigh injury for the home side, while Calvin Bassey, Alex Iwobi and Fobo Ballo-Toure remain on international duty, as Senegal and Nigeria both progressed to the knockout stages. Harry Wilson, Kenny Tete and Harrison Reed could all offer Marco Silva fresh options after they started on the bench in midweek, and the manager may feel the need to rotate after Wednesday’s efforts. 

Newcastle’s injury list just keeps getting longer. Joelinton could be out for the season after surgery while Nick Pope, Elliot Anderson, Joe Willock, Harvey Barnes, Jacob Murphy and Matt Targett remain out with various issues. Sandro Tonali is still suspended and Callum Wilson is also expected to miss this one with a calf issue, as speculation looms around his future. 

Match Odds

Fulham are 2/1 to win this match, with Newcastle priced at 13/10. A draw is something neither side will want, but that’s priced at 5/2, with BTTS 8/13 and over 2.5 goals 8/11. 

Under 2.5 goals @ EVS

With the absentees on both sides, and Fulham’s midweek tussle with Liverpool likely to give them a bit of a hangover here, I simply can’t see this being a very entertaining game of football. It’s likely to be fairly stagnant, with both sides needing reinforcements in the January window. Newcastle have actually been in decent goalscoring nick, scoring in their last four outings, while Fulham have only managed three goals in their last four, including only managing to score one at home to Championship strugglers Rotherham United in round three. 

The odds of EVS for there to be under 2.5 goals feel generous from my point of view. With Callum Wilson still out for Newcastle, and Fulham still lacking a goalscoring number nine, it’s not going to be a game full of drama. This is a Saturday night clash on ITV4, and not one a lot of viewers will be tuning in for. It’s likely to be a drab encounter, and I’m more than happy to back the unders on this occasion.

Draw @ 5/2

As mentioned, I don’t think there will be a lot in this game. Newcastle are the favourites given the individual quality they possess, but as we saw against Liverpool, Fulham have the ability to match the top sides at Craven Cottage. They drew that second leg 1-1, and while Newcastle haven’t drawn in their last five, I think these two teams are incredible well-matched. 

As a result, I predict a final scoreline of 0-0 or 1-1, both results that would return winners for these two picks. If you fancy plumping for a correct scoreline, you can get 12/1 or 6/1 respectively on those two results, with a replay up at St James’ Park the most likely outcome in my eyes.  

Check out our other Football Betting Tips here.