The rivalry between Sunderland and Fulham is fairly competitive in the Premier League. However, in those matches Fulham has a slight advantage as over the past 13 years, the team has recorded 3 wins more than Sunderland. Although, in this match the host are determined as the favorite by the bookies, it seems to many experts that Fulham has the advantage.
Martin Jol managed to keep the core of its team of Berbatov, Ruiz, Hangeland, Riether, Sidwell and also signed some good new players. The former star of QPR Adel Taarabt is now in the team of Fulham and the hopes of a successful partnership with Dimitar Berbatov are set high. Last season, the main problems of "Cottagers" were in defense and it's not a surprise that Jol attracted two experienced defensive players - Amorebieta and Derek Boateng.
In Sunderland Paolo Di Canio is building a whole new team. The manager got as many as 9 new footballers and 8 left the club. Accordingly, we can not expect from the players of Sunderland to be well-organized. Another problem for Di Canio is the long list of injured and suspended players. Craig Gardner and David Vaughan will miss the game, due to suspensions from last season, while five other players are injured or doubtful for this match.
A bet on the draw or an away win in this game definitely has value, with regard to the situation in the two teams. However, the matches of the first round of this really exciting league are really hard to predict.