A London derby with clear favorites: Fulham welcomes Crystal Palace, currently in fifth place and pushing for European qualification, to Craven Cottage on Sunday, while Fulham, in 15th place, will try to capitalize on its recent rise in form and break away from the bottom of the table. Palace are in better form in the league under Oliver Glasner and are riding the momentum of a recent cup victory, but they face a busy schedule and have injury concerns, particularly around Ismaïla Sarr, who is out for several weeks with an ankle ligament injury. Fulham have shown tremendous attacking intent recently, exemplified by their spectacular 5-4 home defeat to Manchester City, in which Samuel Chukwueze scored twice as a substitute, and have picked up nine of their 17 points in the last five games, but remain inconsistent in terms of converting their performances into results. The most recent head-to-head matches at Craven Cottage clearly favor Palace, who won 2-0 there in the league in February and 3-0 in the FA Cup quarterfinals in March. This record is based, among other things, on a stable defense that has kept seven clean sheets this season, giving Palace a solid foundation even when squad fatigue is noticeable. Fulham are still without Antonee Robinson and Rodrigo Muniz, while Palace are without Sarr and Glasner has openly discussed the limited depth of his squad in view of the tight schedule. Tactically, Palace are expected to focus on compact defense and efficient transitions, while Fulham will press aggressively, use the wings, and rely on Chukwueze’s form as a substitute. Squad rotation could play a bigger role at Palace to ensure freshness. Despite the ten-point gap in the table, the match looks relatively even on paper, which is why a cautious prediction would be a narrow away win or a draw, such as Crystal Palace 2-1 or 1-1. Looking at the betting market, Palace’s strong defense, combined with Fulham’s inconsistency in front of goal, suggests a low-scoring game, with the under/over market likely to favor the under.
- Venue: Craven Cottage, London
- Date and time: 07.12.2025, 5:30 p.m.
- Competition: Premier League (Matchday 15)
The markets appear balanced overall, although some indicators favor Fulham. The team usually finds its rhythm quickly after breaks in the schedule, and the recent 4-0 win against Manchester City underscores its offensive potential. Crystal Palace, on the other hand, is facing a tight schedule, with this being its fifth game in 16 days, and Oliver Glasner has publicly questioned the depth of his squad, which increases the risk of fatigue, especially towards the end of the game. “Both teams to score: Yes” seems a plausible market given Fulham’s defensive weaknesses and Palace’s offensive threat from Daniel Muñoz, especially as the second half could be the decisive phase due to possible Palace fatigue and the impact of substitutions, particularly Chukwueze coming off the bench, provided Fulham maintain their intensity and pressing. This results in three obvious betting approaches with varying degrees of risk: First, “Both teams to score: Yes,” moderate risk with solid value due to the defensive vulnerabilities of both sides. Second, Fulham to win or draw, i.e., Double Chance 1X, as a more conservative option that reflects Fulham’s good reaction after halftime. Third, goals or “Both teams to score: Yes” markets specifically for the second half, such as more goals scenarios or Both teams to score: Yes – 2nd half, more speculative but in line with possible Palace fatigue and the importance of late substitutions.
Fulham Form & Record Check
Fulham’s season seems divided. A recent upturn under Marco Silva has brought nine of their 17 points so far in the last five league games and has somewhat alleviated early relegation fears, but their 15th place in the table, just two points ahead of Nottingham Forest and two behind Bournemouth, shows how tight the mid-table zone remains. The 5-4 home defeat to Manchester City was both alarming and encouraging. Five goals conceded at Craven Cottage exposed defensive weaknesses, but the comeback attempt with goals from Samuel Chukwueze, who scored twice as a substitute, Alex Iwobi, and Emile Smith Rowe showed real attacking quality and resilience, especially as Joshua King was denied a possible equalizer in stoppage time by a clearance off the line. Recent positive results include an away win at Tottenham, a home win against Sunderland, and a confident 3-0 win against Wolves. The win at Tottenham highlighted Fulham’s ability to take early chances and then manage a lead in a controlled manner, while the 2-0 defeat at Everton highlighted their ongoing problems in away games. The personnel situation remains tense: Antonee Robinson is still out with knee problems and has only played 151 minutes this season, while Rodrigo Muniz is sidelined until February with a thigh injury. Chukwueze’s strong performances as a substitute have made him one of the most important options off the bench, although Silva is carefully planning his longer-term role. Fulham’s recent form is also reflected in the statistics: there have been no draws in their last five league games, suggesting a certain all-or-nothing tendency, and only Arsenal have managed to keep a clean sheet at Craven Cottage this season. In the short term, Silva’s focus is on stabilizing the defensive organization, particularly to avoid heavy home defeats, managing rotations and injuries in the squad wisely, and converting attractive attacking performances into points more consistently. If Chukwueze continues to make an impact from the bench and key players return step by step, Fulham can consolidate their position in mid-table and aim for more consistent form.
Coach Marco Silva is likely to stick to his usual 4-2-3-1 formation, with injuries forcing adjustments to the personnel but not the structure. In defense, Antonee Robinson remains sidelined with knee problems, so Ryan Sessegnon should start at left back again. The rest of the back four is expected to remain unchanged, barring any new fitness issues at short notice. In midfield, a double cover in front of the defense is expected again, while in the attacking trio behind the striker, Harry Wilson, Emile Smith Rowe, and Alex Iwobi are expected to be the creative minds to create chances. In attack, Rodrigo Muniz is out until the end of February with a thigh injury, so Raúl Jiménez is likely to start as the lone striker, supported by the attacking trio. Overall, the 4-2-3-1 structure remains intact, with Silva relying heavily on Sessegnon to provide width and trusting the three attacking midfielders to deliver both creativity and goal threat in Muniz’s absence.
Crystal Palace Form & Record Check
Crystal Palace are surprisingly high up in fifth place with 23 points, just one point behind Chelsea and level with Sunderland, but this strong position masks a team operating under the high pressure of an extremely busy schedule, with Oliver Glasner’s limited resources being stretched to the limit. Recent results reflect resilience rather than ease of play. The 1-0 away win at Burnley, with Daniel Muñoz scoring the decisive goal, is exemplary of the current approach: tough, functional, and dependent on individual moments and important defensive actions such as Dean Henderson’s save, which kept the game close. This success followed a 2-1 home defeat to Manchester United, and another midweek loss to Strasbourg in the Conference League highlighted the physical demands of competing on multiple fronts. With only 17 fit players and, in some cases, just five days’ rest over a span of 11 games in 36 days, fatigue is a real issue. Glasner has openly criticized the club’s transfer policy over the summer, calling for more signings and warning that January could be too late. Injuries such as Ismaïla Sarr’s ankle ligament injury, who is also fighting to be fit in time for the AFCON, further limit the attacking options at a crucial stage. Tactically, Glasner has had to scale back his preferred, very intense transition game with high attacking pressing because the squad lacks freshness and suitable player types. Instead, Palace is playing more pragmatically and with a clearer defensive structure, while talents such as Uche and Esse are only playing marginal roles as they do not yet fully meet the coach’s athletic and defensive requirements. This shift is visible in the statistics: in the last five games, Palace has not conceded a goal in the first half and has scored in 80% of those games, demonstrating an organized, robust structure that prioritizes results over aesthetics. Given the busy schedule and limited squad depth, this pragmatic approach seems the most sensible strategy in the short term, until reinforcements or more recovery time allow a return to Glasner’s original idea.
Crystal Palace are expected to line up in a 3-4-2-1 formation. Jean-Philippe Mateta will lead the line up front, while Daichi Kamada and Yéremy Pino will take on the two attacking midfield and second striker roles, with Pino likely to play slightly higher up due to the absence of Ismaïla Sarr. Marc Guehi, Maxence Lacroix, and Chris Richards are expected to form the back three. Daniel Muñoz on the right and Tyrick Mitchell on the left are expected to provide width at full-back. Borna Sosa could be available again after missing the trip to Burnley, but he is by no means a sure starter. In the center, Adam Wharton and Jefferson Lerma provide stability in front of the back three as a double six and are expected to organize the game from deep. Sarr is out for this game with a ligament injury to his ankle, the squad depth remains limited, Glasner had only 17 players available in Burnley, and it is the fifth game in 16 days, so fatigue and limited rotation options are key factors in the line-up decision. Under these circumstances, Glasner is likely to focus on continuity in defense and primarily vary the attacking trio to compensate for Sarr’s absence and balance freshness against defensive stability.
Fulham – Crystal Palace Head-to-Head Comparison & Statistics
Crystal Palace has clearly dominated the most recent encounters at Craven Cottage in 2025, winning 2-0 there in the league in February and 3-0 in the FA Cup quarterfinals in March. Fulham’s only win in the last five meetings was a 2-0 victory at Selhurst Park in 2024, with the other two games in this series ending in draws, in April 2024 and September 2023. The goal pattern in these five encounters is striking, as they were all low-scoring, with all ending with under 3.5 goals and four out of five even ending with under 2.5 goals. The first half was particularly lean, with four consecutive games seeing less than 1.5 goals in the first half, suggesting that both coaches tend to be cautious against each other, especially at the start. Tactically, Palace’s recent success at Craven Cottage suggests that they have repeatedly found ways to break down Fulham’s home approach under Marco Silva, presumably through disciplined pressing, quick transitions, or the targeted exploitation of certain weaknesses in Fulham’s home defense. While Fulham’s single recent victory shows that the derby remains open, Palace travel with a clear psychological and tactical advantage. From a betting perspective, Under 3.5 goals remains a sensible baseline, and Under 2.5 goals seems obvious, supported by the history of four of the last five games. Under 1.5 goals – 1st half is also reinforced by four consecutive occurrences. If Crystal Palace is expected to confirm its recent effectiveness at this venue, scenarios are conceivable in which Crystal Palace wins or draws and “Both teams to score: No” occurs, with the Crystal Palace win variant in particular being statistically more strongly supported by recent results at Craven Cottage. Overall, these have historically been close, low-scoring London derbies with advantages for Palace, especially at Craven Cottage, and the match is likely to follow the recent pattern of few goals, as long as neither side fundamentally changes its approach or key players are affected by short-term injuries.
