West Ham vs Fulham – Preview, Lineups, Score Prediction | OneFootball

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West Ham United host Fulham with an increasing desperation to pick up points as Leeds United in 16th and Nottingham Forest in 17th keep pulling away, with the chasm between the Hammers and Forest standing at five points.

Fulham have been a lot more consistent and with the gap between the Cottagers and Chelsea in fourth a mere six points, they will understandably be concerning themselves with upward mobility rather than looking behind their shoulders, with a ten-point gap between themselves and the Hammers.

The Africa Cup of Nations though, could throw a spanner in the works and make the contest more unpredictable than it might have been, possibly benefitting the Hammers.

West Ham will be without the services of Aaron Wan-Bissaka and El Hadji Malick Diouf, who are currently away with DR Congo and Senegal respectively. Fulham, likewise, will be without the Nigerian contingent of Calvin Bassey, Samuel Chukwueze and Alex Iwobi.

While El Hadji Malick Diouf is the top assister for West Ham, Bassey, Chukwueze and Iwobi are arguably bigger misses for Fulham. Bassey and Iwobi have both made 18 appearances, with Iwobi scoring twice and assisting twice for the Cottagers. Chukwueze is the top assister for Fulham with four, while also contributing two goals.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s men have failed to win eleven of their last 13 Premier League games at the London Stadium but equally, Fulham are without a win in 13 of their last 14 league visits to the London Stadium, losing nine games since December 2002.

Though Nuno has overseen a slight improvement after taking over, taking the club to 18th from 19th, their last six fixtures have produced four defeats with a solitary win. Nuno will undoubtedly want to strengthen over the January window, but there has been more concrete movement with regards to outgoings than incomings.

Nuno is entering desperate straits, if he is not already there, and needs to find a way to eke out points. The January window too, holds no promise of an uptick, with West Ham hampered by PSR.

Niclas Fullkrug is heading on loan to AC Milan, after turning down offers from Germany, while Sporting Lisbon are strongly linked with taking Luis Guilherme from the Hammers.

Though the Hammers are linked with exciting striker Kaio Jorge, they face a battle to land the Brazil international. West Ham are interested in taking Adama Traore from their weekend opponents, with that transfer rated as more likely.

The prevailing sense amongst the Claret and Blue Army is that West Ham are sleepwalking to relegation, which is all the more understandable given that they saw a side that contained the likes of Paolo Di Canio, Frederic Kanoute, Joe Cole, Michael Carrick, Les Ferdinand, Jermain Defoe, Trevor Sinclair and Lee Bowyer go down in 2003, a season after finishing seventh.

Marco Silva has a chance to set Fulham’s record at the London Stadium right, while also maintaining pace with clubs positioned above the Cottagers. With the Premier League being so open, and no single team able to find consistency, Fulham have a chance to finish amongst the European spots, and Silva will know that there remains an outside chance of even qualification for the Champions League.

The Hammers’ veteran goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski remains a long-time injury absentee while Oliver Scarles is a major doubt after being forced off against Manchester City last weekend. The Cottagers have Rodrigo Muniz and Ryan Sessegnon ruled out while they remain hopeful Harry Wilson will recover in time for the clash.

Recent Form (league)

West Ham United: LLDDL

Fulham: WWLLW

Key Men

West Ham United

Jarrod Bowen has stuck to task admirably despite having little support, is West Ham’s top scorer, with five goals, and leads the squad for expected assists in open play. Bowen will again be the key, or only hope if the Hammers are to get something out of the game.

Mateus Fernandes will be key not only in trying to disrupt Fulham’s possession-based play, but also during transitions when West Ham try to mount a counter-attack.

Lucas Paqueta continues to be a player who when on song can make a real difference. Nuno getting the best out of him consistently could be crucial.

Fulham

Sander Berge will be key in snuffing out any threat the Hammers pose during transitions, as they look to control proceedings at the London Stadium.

Harry Wilson has three goals and three assists in his last five Premier League games and has quietly become the fulcrum of Fulham’s attack. Wilson seems to be finally fulfilling the potential he displayed as a youngster and will want to extend his fine vein of form.

Emile Smith Rowe is one of the many supporting acts Fulham possess at the moment. Smith Rowe is on three goals for the season and will look to help himself further against a hapless Hammers defence.

Match Prediction

Fulham have a poor record at the London Stadium, while the stats are also skewed in West Ham’s favour historically. They though have a chance to fix that, with the Hammers saved from the ignominy being the worst side in the league merely because there are two other sides performing worse inexplicably.

The Cottagers fare better the Hammers in both phases of play, having scored more goals while also having conceded fewer. Their threat is also more distributed, with Fulham’s attack able to better share the load compared to West Ham who have been over-reliant on Bowen.

An away win for the Cottagers and further pain for Nuno and West Ham fans seems likely unless Fulham offer up a belated Christmas gift.

Inside Futbol Score Prediction

West Ham United 1-2 Fulham

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