Arguably the most important game of West Ham’s season to date, in terms of winning. Add that to a London derby and you’ve got something, which should be, an interesting spectacle.
West Ham haven’t won in their last five Premier League fixtures and Fulham have lost their last four. Both sides are at the wrong end of the table with the Hammers sitting in 17th and Fulham one place below in 18th.
West Ham will be without a few key names: Mladen Petric, Alou Diarra, Winston Reid, Ricardo Vaz Te, Razvan Rat and Andy Carroll all missing out due to injury. Fulham are also missing many names, with Hugo Rodallega, Damien Duff and Hangeland among the top players who have injuries. Sascha Riether misses out due to suspension for his stamp on Manchester United’s Adnan Januzaj.
Both sides have been struggling of late and Fulham’s strike partnership of Darren Bent and Dimitar Berbatov, have been under some criticism about the lack of effort they’ve been showing, in particular, Berbatov, who is known for his lackadaisical style. It can’t be doubted that class is permanent and these two have produced many Premier League goals between them. We all know that everyone loves to end their goal droughts against West Ham.
With those two strikers likely to start for Fulham, will West Ham finally field a striker this weekend?
Expectation for a win is rarely this high for West Ham. Every fan without question wants and expects a home win versus a side that are struggling and showing little passion for the cause. Martin Jol is somehow still in the job despite the criticism he has been receiving. I’m sure Fulham fans will also be hoping for a win, as these are the games that both sides NEED to win. You can lose to the big sides but these games are basically six pointers. To be leapfrogged by Fulham after all the criticism they’ve been getting of late, will be an embarrassment.
I don’t tend to like the “must win” phrase, but in this case for both managers, even more questions will be asked if they fail to win. Neither side will be particularly happy with a draw, but for Fulham, an away point and to end the losing streak will be more of a positive.
Both sides are struggling to score goals. West Ham have been the better team defensively, but cracks are beginning to show without Winston Reid, with West Ham having conceded three goals in both of their last two games.
Will Mohamed Diame return in place of Jack Collison, who looked so out of his depth versus Chelsea?
This will be an interesting match, as any result means bad news for one of the mangers at least. Neither set of fans would take too well to a defeat and many West Ham fans are at the end of their tether.
Let’s get behind the boys and get our 3rd win of the season.
Prediction: West Ham 2-0 Fulham
COME ON YOU IRONS!
THAT’S THE WAY WEST HAM. GREAT STRUFF. YOU’VE GOT A WIN UNDER YOUR BELTS, NOW GET ANOTHER. STOP FOCUSING ON WHAT OTHER TEAMS ARE DOING TOO MUCH SAM AND START FOCUSING ON WHAT YOU ARE DOING. TONY PULIS WILL BE PULLING HIS HAIR OUT (WHAT’S LEFT OF IT) AND WEST HAM’S GAME PLAN APART, BUT WHO GIVES A STUFF. NOW BUILD ON WHAT YOU’VE GOT AND KEEP THIS MOMENTUM GOING, AND WIN AT PALACE. YOU’LL NEED IT, WITH GOING TO ANFIELD ON SATURDAY