Fulham V Hamburg Betting

[White Noise]

Its meaningless, of course, but the bookies have us as odds on favourites for Thursday's game -

http://www.bettingpro.com/category/Football/Fulham-v-Hamburg-betting-tips-201004270053/

Fulham v Hamburg betting tips


Dave Higgins - 27 Apr 2010


You can back Cottagers at 10/11 to qualify for the Europa League final

When Fulham finished seventh in the Premier League last season, some thirty-three points behind Liverpool in the table, nobody could have foreseen that Roy Hodgson's team would now be just one match away from potentially facing the Reds in the Europa League final.

The Cottagers have been nothing short of sensational in this competition, despite being handed several draws that almost looked as if UEFA were trying to engineer their exit out of the competition. Shakhtar Donetsk, Juventus and Wolfsburg have all been slain, despite being the bookies favourite each time and Hamburg look ripe for the taking.

Bet365 offer 10/11 that Fulham knock out another German team on Thursday night and they have done the hard work by managing a goalless draw at the Nordbank Arena. They have been boosted by the fact that Hamburg parted company with their manager on Monday, with Sky Bet offering 5/4 that they take full advantage by winning this encounter.

Much depends on the fitness of Bobby Zamora, a striker that many people argue should be included in Fabio Capello's 23-man England squad for the 2010 World Cup. The striker limped off with an Achilles problem in last week's first leg, although he's 6/1 (William Hill) to open the scoring and send a packed Craven Cottage into frenzy.

Bruno Labbadia's last match in charge of Hamburg was Saturday's 5-1 pummelling at the hands of Hoffenheim, with Ricardo Moniz taking charge until the rest of the season. It's hard to know what impact this will have on the second leg, although the Rothosen are 5/2 (Coral) to win on the night and 10/11 (bet365) to qualify for the final, which will be held at their own stadium.

Club chairman Bernd Hoffmann claims that this managerial switch is likelier to produce a strong result on Thursday, although much depends on the front pairing of Marcus Berg (8/1 Ladbrokes) and Ruud Van Nistelrooy (13/2 bet365). The Dutchman had an excellent scoring record against Fulham when he was a Manchester United player, although he didn't get much change from Brede Hangeland in the first leg.