Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the English Premier League match.
On Sunday, Martin Ødegaard will lead Arsenal as captain for the 100th time, though this will be his 163rd appearance for the team and he is only 25 years old. The Norwegian is also the club's most successful captain since the 1988/89 season (with a minimum of 20 games as captain) — Arsenal have won 66.7% of matches under his leadership.
Fulham
Fulham are in sixth place, which speaks volumes. Although they can occasionally falter at home, as seen in the penultimate match at Craven Cottage against Wolverhampton (1:4), they often achieve maximum results with minimal effort. In their latest home game, Fulham defeated Brighton (3:1) while only registering six shots and hitting the target twice. The missing third shot was an own goal by an opponent. This pattern is recurring — they concede but don't give up. Perhaps this explains why Fulham have had six matches with three or more goals in their last 10.
Arsenal
When Arsenal are involved in high-scoring matches, they generally turn it to their advantage. They haven't suffered defeats like 1:3 or 2:4, but scorelines like 5:2 against West Ham United or 3:0 against Nottingham Forest are likely. At worst, it's 2:2, as with Liverpool or Manchester City. Such scores occur less frequently in Arsenal's matches compared to their London derby opponents but still happen in most of their fixtures (6 out of the last 10 Premier League games).
Fulham vs Arsenal Prediction
The history of Arsenal's meetings with Fulham has also accustomed fans to high scores. In their last five encounters, only one featured fewer than three goals. Arsenal haven't always won — only twice, which might mar Martin Ødegaard's stats. We're going with a total over 2.5
