Fulham have had a difficult start to life back in the Premier League.
Fulham were undoubtedly one of the most exciting teams in the Championship last season as they won promotion via the play-offs.
Despite bolstering their squad with several additions worth nearly £100million, they sit just one place above the relegation zone ahead of the Premier League’s return this weekend.
Fulham won only one of their first eight games, and have picked up two draws from the other seven, with a run of 14 goals conceded over their last five games highlighting the issue.
In fact, Fulham have conceded the most goals in the Premier League this season (21) and a closer look at the statistics suggest one glaring reason – no one has conceded more goals directly from a mistake than Fulham (3), while they sit joint-third on mistakes they got away with (4), according to Squawka.
That would suggest there is some work to do, but details from the other end of the pitch show exactly how promising they are.
Fulham sit seventh in terms of total shots (111) – a fine position to be in for a newly promoted club – but it is their created chances that really stands out.
The Cottagers have created the third most goal-scoring opportunities in the Premier League this season, with only Manchester City and Chelsea boasting more.
Their conversion rate of 8.1% is only good enough to be 16th best, although that is roughly where you would expect a newly promoted side to be at the start of the season (for reference, Wolverhampton Wanderers have the 15th best with 8.2%, while Cardiff are rock bottom with 4.7%).
As Fulham get more suited to life in the top flight, that conversion rate can be expected to go up and, considering the number of opportunities they are getting, there is the potential for a lot of goals at Craven Cottage this season.
Fulham just need to ensure they are all at the right end.
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