Fulham v Southampton: Cottagers to claim top honours

• Fulham's second-best ever EPL points tally

• Saints bottom for Christmas

• Whites backed to succeed at The Cottage

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Fulham v Southampton
Sunday December 22, 14:00
Live on Sky Sports

Fulham disappointed with Anfield draw

Fulham chief Marco Silva admitted feeling disappointed having to settle for a draw against 10-man Liverpool last weekend. Andy Robertson was sent off after just 17 minutes - after Andreas Pereira put the Cottagers in front. Liverpool recovered to level early in the second half, before substitute Rodrigo Muniz forced home a second goal for the Whites.

However, the visitors were denied a famous Anfield success late on with Silva saying, "We are leaving with a mix of feelings. When you are leading twice, and of course, Liverpool after 20 minutes playing with 10 men, of course, we got the feeling that we should have won the game. But I have to give credit to our players for their attitude and commitment."

Fulham can welcome back both Tom Cairney and Calvin Bassey from suspension on Sunday, and there's a chance Joachim Andersen could also be involved as he continues his comeback from injury, though Harrison Reed and Reiss Nelson are longer-term absentees. Emile Smith-Rowe should start here after dropping to the bench for the trip to the league leaders.

Rusk takes positives from Saints cup exit

Southampton's interim boss Simon Rusk believes Saints can take positives from their Carabao Cup exit at the hands of Liverpool in midweek, particularly with it coming after "a very quick turnaround" from Premier League action. Russell Martin was sacked late on Sunday night and the caretaker coach says the side were given little opportunity to prepare.

Speaking after the 2-1 Wednesday night reverse against the table-toppers, Rusk said: "There was very little time for recovery for the lads. But overall, I thought we had that little bit more bite about us and that was aided by our moments of quality. The aim was to be in the game - and we were - so I think we can take a lot of positives despite the defeat."

Rusk confirmed that the club are unsure whether defender James Bree sustained "a contact injury or something a bit niggly like a muscular injury" during the game. Meanwhile, Kyle Walker-Peters and Aaron Ramsdale are close to returning to the first-team action and look to set to be involved, but captain Jack Stephens serves the final match of his suspension.

Fulham strong favourites to succeed

Fulham have edged the head-to-head encounters with Southampton this century, delivering W6-D7-L5, though the Whites have been at their best when hosting Saints at Craven Cottage, losing just one of their last nine meetings here (W5-D3-L1). The Cottagers completed the double over Southampton in their most recent contests back in 2022/23.

Fulham 1.444/9 start the weekend four points off the top-four in the Premier League. The Whites have posted their second-best points return after 16 EPL outings and Marco Silva's men have impressively been marked as Expected Goals (xG) winners in nine of those 16 showdowns. The hosts are W4-D1-L1 when welcoming sides below them in the standings.

Southampton 8.007/1 will be bottom for Christmas irrespective of Sunday's result. If Saints lose, their five-point tally will be the joint-second lowest of any side at Christmas in the Premier League - the visitors have posted W0-D1-L7 in their eight away days and have lost the xG battle in 14 of their overall 16 dates, sitting rock-bottom for Expected Points (xP).

Cottagers backed for top honours

Fulham have produced commendable back-to-back performances to hold both Arsenal and Liverpool and are now unbeaten in four having picked up four points against Tottenham and Brighton previously. The Whites schedule eases (in-theory) on Sunday and the Cottagers are understandably short-priced favourites to pick up maximum points against Southampton.

We can bolster the odds on Fulham from their 1.444/9 quotes on the Exchange to a much more palatable 4/51.80 on the Sportsbook by backing Fulham to win alongside Under 4.5 Goals. All six of the Cottagers' league triumphs this term have featured Under 4.5 Goals with only two of their 16 tussles producing five strikes or more (against Man City and Wolves).

Southampton (W1-D2-L13) may enjoy a slight upturn following Russell Martin's departure, yet Saints have managed a solitary point against sides outside of the bottom-six, and have scored just four goals in eight road trips since promotion. None of those eight games as guests have produced Over 4.5 Goals despite facing four of the top-seven.

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