Blackpool vs Fulham – Hughes to end Fulham’s dismal away run

Blackpool will be keen to build on their solid home run and further extend Fulham’s abysmal record on the road when Bloomfield Road prepares to host its first ever fixture in the Premier League.

A failure to have their East Stand ready in time meant that Ian Holloway’s team had to rearrange their first game of the season against Wigan to the JJB Stadium, but this proved no hindrance as they opened the campaign with a 4-0 win.

However, the Premier League newboys were brought back to earth with a bang when dismantled 6-0 by Arsenal in their last league outing, before being dumped ouf of the Carling Cup by MK Dons after extra time.

Holloway will have his players’ minds back on the job for the visit of Fulham as they attempt to extend their unbeaten run to ten games at home.

Blackpool are 21/10 to kick-off with victory at Bloomfield Road and 9/4 to claim a draw.

New Fulham boss Mark Hughes is the latest to try to cure Fulham’s troubles away from Craven Cottage as they have not taken three points in any of their last 19 games on their travels.

Meanwhile, they have only mustered one goal in their last ten of these games, when Erik Nevland struck in a 2-1 defeat at Everton in April.

Their first away game of the campaign ended in a 0-0 draw at Bolton and 10/1 is on offer for a repeat.

Fulham are 13/10 to win their first game of the Premier League season, with Bobby Zamora perhaps their best hope of a goal.

He is 4/1 to open the scoring and evens to find the target at any time within the 90 minutes.

Among the things in Fulham’s favour are that they have won six of their last seven league meetings with Blackpool and four of the last six in all competitions away from home.

Marlon Harewood scored twice in Blackpool’s 4-0 win over Wigan and is 33/1 to continue his rich vein of form with a hat-trick against Fulham.

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