Fulham vs West Ham United
Craven Cottage sets the stage for an all-London Premier League meeting between Fulham and West Ham United.
After taking more than enough time to adjust their attacking set-up without Aleksandar Mitrovic, Fulham have started raining down goals again, netting 11 across their last three Premier League outings, more than in their previous 12 top-flight games combined! Marco Silva’s side agonizingly lost 4-3 at Liverpool last weekend but straightened up in midweek league action to dispatch Nottingham Forest 5-0 at home and steer nine points clear of the drop zone. Craven Cottage is steadily becoming a fortress again, with the ‘Cottagers’ winning three of their last four league matches on home turf (L1), including two in a row in the build-up to this fixture. Keen to become the first Fulham side to score 3+ goals in four straight league games for the first time since 1961, they must defy an underwhelming six-game winless H2H run versus West Ham (D1, L5).
That could prove easier said than done as the visitors take this cross-capital trip in high spirits after a come-from-behind 2-1 win against Tottenham in midweek Premier League action. Fighting back has been a common theme in West Ham’s recent games, as their last three league victories saw them get back from a deficit en route to assembling the second-best four-game run in the division (W3, D1). Connoisseurs of action-packed football should be enthusiastic about this contest as the ‘Hammers’ are the only Premier League side alongside Brighton to have scored and conceded on every league travel this season. Manager David Moyes’ wouldn’t mind a clean sheet for a change, especially as it would enhance his chances of posting a 21st managerial win against Fulham!