Dempsey Shining In Zamora's Absence

When Bobby Zamora, a player in the form of his life and full of confidence, suffered a horrific injury after a challenge from Karl Henry during Fulham's clash against Wolves, Fulham fans were left feeling extremely pessimistic about their side's chances for the rest of the Premier League campaign.

With Zamora in such good form and finally earning the recognition he spent so much of his career working for, it would have been a major blow for any side in the league to lose such a valuable asset for such a long period of time. With Fulham unable to splash the cash as Manchester City and Chelsea would be able to in their position come January, the future didn't look too bright at the time for fans of the West London club and the Premier League betting reflected that.

However, these doubts have slipped away to become a mere distant memory thanks to one man, Clint Dempsey. The USA striker has been in sensational form for his club, rising to the challenge of leading the line in Zamora's absence. His brace secured Fulham a 2-0 win last weekend over Wigan and the two goals clearly displayed his versatility in front of goal, with the first coming from a deft header and the second from a stinging shot.

True, Wigan played into Fulham's hands somewhat with a performance that was miserable to say the least, but there's no doubting the attacking talents that Mark Hughes's side have at their disposal, even in Zamora's absence. Still, the Fulham betting suggests they should be able to push on after the win.

Fulham are now up to 10th in the table, ahead of Bolton and Sunderland, and just three points away from Tottenham in fifth. Some tricky fixtures are on the horizon, including a meeting at Stamford Bridge with Chelsea and a trip up to Newcastle to take on Chris Hughton's men, but with weapons like Dempsey in his artillery, Hughes should be confident of his team moving further up the table over the coming weeks.