by Nikki Adams
Premier League-chasing Fulham sees its odds shortened after a big win at the weekend. Fulham are now odds-on favourites to win the Championship; thereby, emerging as the top bet to earn promotion back into England's top-flight league in 2022.
The last four years have been a rollercoaster ride for Fulham fans with the Cottagers oscillating between Premier League and Championship League action. However, the hope within Fulham is that manager Marco Silva will be able to end the Cottagers' ebb and flow by building stability and consistency within the club to end the frustrating inconsistency of the last few years.
Fulham dropped out of the Premier League after one season, following a disappointing 2020-21 campaign that resulted in a 5-13-20 mark through 38 fixtures and 28 points that was good enough for 18th spot. Try as they might, though, they were unable to avoid the drop when all was said and done at the tail-end of their 2020-21 campaign. A loss to Burnley in the relegation round decided their fate, sending them back into England's second-tier league to prove their top-flight credentials once again.
By and large, Silva was a surprising hire in the eyes of many. His record as a manager in the Premier League was mixed after previous spells with Hull, Watford and Everton. Not least of all, the Portuguese manager only ever completed one full season over the course of his varied managerial positions with the aforementioned clubs.
So, his hire was a somewhat unpopular decision. To entrust the 44-year-old manager with the mandate of returning Fulham to Premier League was considered a daring punt, indeed.
The Guardian's Nick Ames touched on Silva's past last month in his article, ‘Marco Silva aims to stop the yo-yo years and bring Fulham stability.' In the piece, he writes about Silva's desire to distance himself from the negative criticism. Even going so far as to concede that his lack of longevity in any given position might be an issue to some.
“If you ask me whether it's a good opportunity to show myself as a manager in a longer period, I agree with you,” said Silva. [Source: The Guardian].
At the same time, Silva unequivocally denied it's an issue or a reflection of his managerial merit.
“If you ask me if I didn't show what I can do as a manager in the past I disagree with you totally, because you can have five months in one football club and show you have quality as well. I think in all of them we had an impact straightaway, developed players, played football, and had very good progress,” said Silva.
So far, so good as Silva's side is off to a bright start in its Championship League campaign despite these widespread misgivings. Fulham sits in second-place in the table behind a 5-1-2 mark after eight laps around the league and 16 points. They're two points behind AFC Bournemouth, their likeliest Championship league title challengers according to the sports and odds analysts for all things Champions League. And as things currently stand, they're locked in a three-way tie with West Bromwich and Coventry City.
The Cottagers moved to the top of the soccer odds board after a redeeming 4-1 away victory over Birmingham City last Wednesday. The win followed a somewhat surprising 1-0 away loss to Blackpool the previous weekend and went some way towards atoning for that setback.
That said, the Cottagers weren't able to keep up the momentum or hold on to top spot in the table this weekend. Silva's lads succumbed to a 2-1 loss at Craven Cottage to Reading, marking their first loss at home this season, but the game wasn't nearly as close as the score suggested.
The Cottagers narrowly avoided total embarrassment with an 86th minute header from Rodrigo Muniz that brought the hosts to within a goal.
Although the defeat to Reading marked their second defeat in the last three fixtures, bookmakers still fancy Fulham's chances this early in the season.
Meanwhile, AFC Bournemouth moved to the top of the table. The Cherries remain undefeated on the season with a 5-3-0 mark and 18 points. This run of form includes a three-match winning streak at the expense of Barnsley (3-0), Queen's Park Rangers (2-1) and Cardiff City (1-0).
Separately, West Bromwich remains undefeated on the season behind a 4-2-0 mark. Most recently, the Baggies have settled on three straight draws: Millwall (1-1), Derby County (0-0) and Preston North End (1-1).
Next up for Fulham is Leeds United in League Cup action on Tuesday followed by a date with Bristol City on Saturday at Ashton Gate.
West Bromwich and AFC Bournemouth are second and third in the betting across multiple top-rated online sports betting platforms, while Stoke City and Queen's Park Rangers are fourth and fifth on the soccer odds board.
Sheffield United come in as the sixth-best bet, although they're off pace and trail nine-points behind top-of-the-table AFC Bournemouth.
