Ruben Neves Wolves

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Fulham Betting: Championship leaders aim to extend lead at the top in tense clash

With second-place Cardiff not in action until Saturday, Wolverhampton Wanderers have the chance to extend their lead at the top of the Championship to four points on Friday night when they host a Fulham side that haven’t yet hit the heights they did last season.

The West Londoners haven’t been victorious in any of the previous six meetings between these teams, although they did record a 5-0 triumph back in March 2012 and have not since bettered that scoreline against any opposition.

Jokanovic’s men are very much the underdogs here at 11/4 (3.75) with bet365 and unsurprisingly, the home side are 10/11 (1.91) favourites to get their 11th league win of the campaign, whilst the Midlanders can be backed at 11/5 (3.2) to win with a -1 handicap, which would have landed in three of their last five games.

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Ryan Sessegnon Fulham 2017Getty Images

Stats imply a trace of value in the 13/5 (3.60) on a draw as that quote suggests a probability of 27.8%, but a share of the spoils has occurred in 30% of games involving either side this season; in fact, one-third of Fulham’s league matches this season have finished 1-1 and a repeat of that scoreline is 6/1 (7.0).

Wolves should have no toruble seeing off a Fulham side that have not won in four, but it is worth looking at goals to find a solid tip. Under 2.5 strikes is on offer at evens (2.0) and since 16 of the 30 games either side has played in has featured two or fewer goals, we are lucky not to get odds-on quotes on this eventuality.

The Cottagers' last two games have both featured two goals whilst three of Wolves' last five have seen under three, including their 0-0 draw after extra time at Manchester City in the EFL Cup before Santo's men crashed out on penalties.

Wolves Fulham graphic

It is unclear who Fulham will start up top as the club are contesting the suspension of striker Aboubakar Kamara, so it may be best not to back a visiting striker to score; the hosts, though have striker Leo Bonatini and versatile forward Diogo Jota to thank for 16 league goals between them.

Bonatini, the Championship’s joint-top scorer, has scored six in his last six and is a reasonable 11/8 (2.38) to bag anytime, whilst Jota - who has started every league game so far - has delight the Molineux faithful with his flair, vision and tally of seven goals.

Two of Wolves’ last four Championship games have ended in a 2-0 win, which can be found at 8/1 (9.0), but that scoreline, as well as five others, is covered by the evens (2.0) on under 2.5 goals, which looks too good to ignore.

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