That means one more club will go down, Fulham currently occupy that position, but two Nigerian internationals will be hoping they can find form and stay in the Premier League. It seems likely that Fulham will be battling with Newcastle for that final spot, a team who have dropped down the Premier League rapidly, and things don’t appear to be getting any better.

Can the two Nigerians play a part in keeping Fulham safe? 

Fulham were very poor at the start of the season, but since then they been much better, especially since we have moved into 2021. What Fulham have been very good at is picking up points by drawing games, rather than losing. 

They have 11 draws to their name so far this season, the joint-highest in the Premier League, and those odd points could well be the difference between staying in the division and dropping down to the Championship. In comparison, Newcastle have just five draws so far this season, less than half the total Fulham have. 

Based on what we have seen recently, more people will fancy the chances of Fulham than they did a couple of months ago. Recent wins have even put them in the category of teams that people are willing to back for success when placing bets. The Premier League is home to many betting deals UK supporters can use, and these will remain available for the rest of the season. 

In terms of Nigerian players, defender Ola Aina missed the start of the season due to injury but since then he has played in every game bar one. The full back has been a big part of the team too, of the 23 games he has played, 19 of those have been for the full 90 minutes, despite him being a player that shows great energy and contributes at both ends of the field.

He scored his second goal of the season to put Fulham in the lead recently against Burnley, though was unable to see his side home, they eventually drew the game 1-1. The second Nigerian to talk about is Josh Maja, a player who joined Fulham in February on loan from French side Bordeaux. 

The centre forward is not known for his goal scoring and is utilised to hold play up and bring others into the action. He’s scored twice for Fulham so far, both of those came in the same game against Everton, which was the first game he featured in the starting eleven. 

Since then he’s been a regular in the team, and will be hoping to contribute either with goals or by creating them for others in a bid to keep this team in the Premier League. 

Of the two players, Aina is rock solid and will continue to provide that for his team. However, it is Maja who could turn out to be the one to watch. He’s done well so far and is still relatively new to this team and how they play. Over the coming weeks, with more time to learn and more games under his belt, there is every chance that he could have an even bigger impact on things. 

After such a torrid start to the season, should Fulham manage to stay up and live to fight another day in the Premier League, this is certainly something that will hit the footballing news headlines. Having said that, based on how they are playing right now, you would fancy them to get out of the relegation zone and survive, they are showing far more than Newcastle.

If by some miracle, this goes down to the final day of the season and it is these two teams who are involved, they actually play each other in what could be a winner takes all game. That would certainly be a pressure game, but one that would round off this Premier League season in great style.

With Newcastle struggling to find form and continuing to drop, Fulham will fancy their chances of staying up and rightfully so. There is a chance that the country of Nigeria could help them too, with Josh Maja being a key man.

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