Fulham vs Crystal Palace Prediction: Mateta The Difference in London Cup Showdown | OneFootball

Fulham vs Crystal Palace Betting Tips

The FA Cup quarter-finals get underway on Saturday lunchtime with an all-London encounter as Fulham and Crystal Palace look to continue their excellent seasons by securing a trip to Wembley (12.15pm, ITV1).

With just eight sides remaining and no Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester United, or Chelsea left, this year’s competition is wide open.

Neither of these sides have won the FA Cup but both have plenty of history in the competition, with three final appearances between them.

Fulham reached their only final in 1975, where they were beaten 2-0 by West Ham, while Palace have been beaten twice in the final by Manchester United.

The first time was in 1990, when they drew 3-3 with the Red Devils at Wembley, before Lee Martin scored the only goal of the game in the replay - a result which many say kept Sir Alex Ferguson in his job.

The same two sides met 26 years later and on that occasion United ran out 2-1 winners after extra time to lift the trophy for the 12th time.

Since that final appearance, Palace have gone out in the third round five times out of nine but they did reach the semi-finals in the 2021/22 season, only to be beaten 2-0 by Chelsea.

This is only the fifth time since 2000 that Fulham have reached the last eight and they have only gone one step further once, when they reached the semi-finals in 2002 before they were beaten 1-0 by Chelsea.

Football betting sites currently make Marco Silva’s side fourth favourite to lift the trophy in May, at 13/2 behind Man City, Villa and Brighton. You can get 10/1 on Palace clinching silverware.

Fulham vs Crystal Palace Betting Preview: Palace to Edge It

So far, Palace have beaten three EFL sides to reach this stage of the competition, winning against League 1 Stockport County, League 2 Doncaster Rovers and most recently Championship side Millwall.

They go into the game with nine wins from their last 11 games which is a huge turnaround for Oliver Glasner’s men, who failed to win any of their first eight Premier League matches. It took until the end of October to secure their first three points when Jean-Philippe Mateta scored the only goal of the game in a 1-0 win over Spurs.

They sit six points and four places below Saturday’s opponents in the league table, and based on their head-to-head form this season, it’s hard to call a winner.

Fulham won 2-0 at Palace in their first meeting back in November before Palace reversed that scoreline at Craven Cottage in February when an own goal from Joachim Anderson and Daniel Munoz’s fourth goal of the season gave them the win.

The Cottagers go into the game in mixed form with three wins and two defeats from their last five games - with the first of those defeats being the 2-0 home loss against Palace.

To reach the last eight Fulham have seen off Championship side Watford and League 1 Wigan before ending Manchester United’s FA Cup defence on penalties in the last round at Old Trafford. Bruno Fernandes cancelled out Calvin Bassey’s earlier strike to send the game into the extra time.

Betting sites are backing the home side for the win at 7/5, while you can get 11/5 on a Palace win and 12/5 on the game to be all square after 90 minutes.

With Mateta set to return after the horrific injury he suffered in the last round and Eberechi Eze boosted by his first England goal in Monday’s 3-0 win over Latvia - we think Palace are just going to nick this one.

Fulham vs Palace Tips: Mateta Back With a Bang

He might have to wear a mask to protect his ear following a challenge by Millwall goalkeeper Liam Roberts that required 25 stitches, but it will take more than that to keep Mateta quiet.

Before his injury, he had scored eight goals in nine games and he will be chomping at the bit to get back in action, having missed the 1-0 win over Ipswich last time out.

He has 20 for the season, for club and country, so far and he will provide the biggest threat to the Fulham defence.

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