The table makes Fulham the bigger side: 11th against 15th of 20 last season. Against the block the other keeps: Fulham takes 1.93 points a game, Crystal Palace 1.20 -- the block form is Fulham's.
Fulham: 40 league matches in the bank, 2 from this season and the rest from last season. Crystal Palace: 40 league matches in the bank, 2 from this season and the rest from last season.
The question this step asks
Step one is THE TABLE: rank against rank, and the blocks -- the table cut into a top, middle and bottom block, drawn from last season's final standings. The question is not just where each side stands but how it behaves against the company the other keeps: does it play to rank against the blocks above and below, or come apart?
The two sides
Fulham -- at home
Where it stands
Stands 16th of 20 after 2 games, with 0 points -- too few games yet to mean much. Last season it finished 11th of 20 in this division.
Its block
By last season's final table it sits in the middle block (7th to 13th). Blocks are drawn from last season because the current table is only 2 games old.
Against today's opponent's block
Today it faces a side from the bottom block (14th to 20th). Against that block it has won 8, drew 3, lost 3 of 14 -- 27 points of 42. At home against them: won 5 of 7. Away against them: won 3 of 7.
Across all the blocks
Across the blocks, over the last two seasons: against the top block won 1, drew 2, lost 9 of 12 (0.42 a game); against the middle block won 6, drew 2, lost 6 of 14 (1.43 a game); against the bottom block won 8, drew 3, lost 3 of 14 (1.93 a game).
Crystal Palace -- away
Where it stands
Stands 20th of 20 after 2 games, with 0 points -- too few games yet to mean much. Last season it finished 15th of 20 in this division.
Its block
By last season's final table it sits in the bottom block (14th to 20th). Blocks are drawn from last season because the current table is only 2 games old.
Against today's opponent's block
Today it faces a side from the middle block (7th to 13th). Against that block it has won 4, drew 6, lost 5 of 15 -- 18 points of 45. At home against them: won 2 of 7. Away against them: won 2 of 8.
Across all the blocks
Across the blocks, over the last two seasons: against the top block won 2, drew 2, lost 9 of 13 (0.62 a game); against the middle block won 4, drew 6, lost 5 of 15 (1.20 a game); against the bottom block won 5, drew 4, lost 3 of 12 (1.58 a game).
Built 00:07 from matches completed before
kick-off. Every figure is an observed count with its denominator —
not a forecast, and nothing here is a tip or a selection.