My 5 Keys to Victory for Fulham against Atletico Madrid - Match Preview

Fulham play tomorrow in the Europa League Final against Atletico Madrid. The game will take place in Hamburg Germany. The  start time for the match is 7:45 UK Time and 2:45 EST. The game will be shown live in the U.S on Direc TV Channel 461. It will also be available live online via UEFA.com. This is a pay option and the price is $9.95 in the U.S. The game will be shown on taped delay the next day at 8PM EST on Gol TV. 

Many matches this Europa League campaign I believe Fulham have been underdogs. I have a feeling they will be underdogs tomorrow by many experts. Their opponent Atletico Madrid is very tough and excellent up front. They also have a young phenom goalkeeper who will be tough to beat. This should be a great match. Both teams deserve to be here. Below are "my 5 keys to victory for Fulham against Atletico Madrid."   

1. Fulham need to feed the ball to Bobby Zamora early and often.  Fulham are at their most dangerous when Zamora is a physical presence and gets the ball. He has the ability to score, but also set up other players like Zoltan Gera and Clint Demspey. If he can establish himself early, Fulham could have the ability to create some quality scoring chances.  

2. Fulham need to test David De Gea in this match.  With a young goalkeeper, Fulham need to take shots on net whenever they can. They need to see if they can rattle his confidence. It could be very difficult to get to him. Clint Dempsey is excellent from distance. The strikers as well need to put pressure on De Gea as early as possible.  However, this could work against Fulham as the more shots he saves could help him gain confidence. I think it is worth it. Fulham need to be aggressive tomorrow. They can't sit back. They need to go for it.  

 3.  Set Pieces will be very important tomorrow.  Fulham, in my opinion have been vulnerable defensively to set pieces. Mladen Petric scored on a great free kick for Hamburg in the Semifinals. Juventus scored twice against Fulham in Italy off of play from set pieces. Fulham need to be excellent defending free kicks and corner kicks tomorrow. They also need to take advantage of their own opportunities scoring off of set pieces. Zoltan Gera scored in the Semifinals off of play from a corner kick. Fulham also have a few players that can take free kicks very well. Clint Dempsey and Bobby Zamora both have the ability to score from set pieces.  

4. Fulham need to contain Diego Forlán  and Sergio Aguero. This key is probably the most important one in the match. Forlan has scored 20 goals and Aguero has scored 14. These two players will be extremely difficult to contain. The back four of Fulham have their work cut out for them. If they can keep these two players in check, Fulham will have a good chance at winning.  

5. Mark Schwarzer needs to be dominating tomorrow.  In the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs, a hot hockey goaltender can takeover a game and a series.  I have seen Mark Schwarzer keep Fulham in many matches since he came to the club. Fulham desperately need him to be dominating tomorrow. He has shown the ability to be a force for Fulham. The Cottagers will need that type of effort from Schwarzer tomorrow. 

No matter what happens tomorrow it has been an incredible ride to the Final of the Europa League. I wish Atletico Madrid and their fans the best of luck tomorrow in this match. They deserve to be there. As stated earlier, it should be a great match. I can't wait for tomorrow.