Preview: Fulham vs West Ham United,Premier League Gameweek 4
- Soccer News 2024/09/13 04:01
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After losing their opening Premier League game of the new season to Manchester United by a 1-0 scoreline, Fulham responded by picking up four points from their next two fixtures prior to the international break.
The Cottagers celebrated their first win of 2024-25 when they beat Leicester City 2-1 on home soil, shortly before claiming a 2-0 EFL Cup success over Birmingham City, but they were forced to share the spoils in a 1-1 draw with Ipswich Town in their most recent top-flight fixture a fortnight ago.
Adama Traore cancelled out Liam Delap's early opener to ensure that Marco Silva's men came away with a point from Portman Road - a somewhat positive result for the Portuguese boss after experiencing a "difficult" second half against their newly-promoted counterparts.
Sitting 13th in the table, Fulham have only won three of their last 12 Premier League games, including results from last season, with two of those victories coming against newly-promoted teams and the other against none other than Saturday's opponents West Ham - the aforementioned 2-0 away triumph five months ago.
Indeed, the Cottagers did the double over West Ham last season, winning by an aggregate score of 7-0, and are now seeking to beat the Hammers in three consecutive league games for the first time since between October 1965 and October 1966.
Julen Lopetegui has experienced a mixed start to life in the West Ham hotseat, as his side have celebrated two victories and suffered two defeats in their opening four matches across all competitions.
A 2-1 opening-weekend defeat at home to Aston Villa in the Premier League was followed by back-to-back wins over Crystal Palace and Bournemouth, the latter of which was in the EFL Cup, but they were unable to enter the international break on a high as they were beaten 3-1 at home to reigning top-flight champions Manchester City.
Ruben Dias's 19th-minute own goal cancelled out Erling Haaland's early opener to give the Hammers fans something to cheer, but keeping Man City's deadly No.9 quiet ultimately proved challenging for the hosts, as he netted two more goals to complete his hat-trick and condemn Lopetegui to his second successive league loss at the London Stadium.
West Ham will welcome a trip away from East London as three of their last four Premier League victories have come on the road. Having already beaten Palace away from home this term, Lopetegui and co will endeavour to win their opening two away league games of a season for the first time since 2015-16 when they travel to Craven Cottage on Saturday.
The Hammers have reason to be optimistic of success this weekend as they have won 16 of their 28 Premier League meetings with Fulham - their best win rate against any team they have faced at least five times in the division (57%).
Fulham possible starting lineup:
Leno; Tete, Andersen, Bassey, Robinson; Berge, Pereira; Traore, Smith Rowe, Iwobi; Muniz
West Ham United possible starting lineup:
Areola; Wan-Bissaka, Todibo, Kilman, Emerson; Alvarez, Rodriguez; Bowen, Paqueta, Kudus; Antonio
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