A New Year brings a new beginning, that’s what Fulham and West Ham United will hope as they meet at Craven Cottage tomorrow.
Both sides have endured a wretched end to 2013 and will want a fresh start when 2014 rolls in at midnight tonight, both clubs find themselves at the wrong end of the Premier League table and will hope to turn things around in the New Year.
The Hammers find themselves in 19th place and staring relegation in the face, but Sam Allardyce, who couldn’t take yesterday’s press conference due to negotiations on the transfer front, will look to bring new bodies in to breathe new air into his beleaguered Hammers.
It may look like the perfect time to play the Irons for a Fulham side bereft of confidence following their 6-0 thrashing at the hands of Hull City on Saturday.
West Ham’s injury list is at an all-time high, after James Tomkins limped off on Saturday it left the Hammers playing four full backs across the back four. It forced the Irons to recall in form Pelly Ruddock from his loan spell from Conference club Luton Town much to the annoyance of the Hatters faithful.
But West Ham in general have a sensational record against Fulham, and have already beaten the Cottagers 3-0 earlier on in the season, and the Fulham faithful will be wary of one man in particular, Carlton Cole, who always seems to grab a goal against the West London side.
It is important that the Hammers attack on Wednesday as with a weakened back four, attack may well be the best form of defence, as we saw on Saturday the game ebbed and flow and ended with a six goal thriller. The message from the bench may well be “outscore the opposition and we will win this. “
In terms of the starting eleven Allardyce will have to choose between Carlton Cole and Modibo Maiga for the starting berth, with many Hammers fans calling for both.
Although Carlton Cole may well have to hoodoo sign over Fulham, Maiga is finally hitting his straps and his impact on Saturday was crucial to the side picking up a point.
The Irons must be wary of a Fulham backlash, as they looked to put a wrong, right in front of their own fans. Fresh from a humiliating 6-0 defeat at Hull, Fulham will realise they must put things right in this massive six pointer. They have experienced players who will want to stand up and be counted in Scott Parker, Philippe Senderos, Brede Hangeland and Dimitar Berbatov, with a point to prove they will be a dangerous side.
The winner of this clash will go a long way to aiding their survival, and three points for Fulham will mean they pull further clear of the struggling Hammers. And with West Ham’s makeshift back four they have players who can hurt the Hammers.
Berbatov and Adel Taarabt have silky skills and a hard shot which will cause the Hammers problems we saw at Upton Park how dangerous Taarabt could be, on the day he just lacked that final finish or ball.
A back four that could consist of Razvan Rat, George McCartney, Joey O’Brien and Guy Demel will have to be on their toes and use all of their experience if the Irons are going to keep their ninth clean sheet of the campaign.
What a way to start 2014 with a massive six pointer and the Hammers will have to find their scoring boots again to win this one. Fulham are a tough side to beat at Craven Cottage and the Irons will want a quick start to calm the nerves.
What the players are saying:
Kieran Richardson told the Fulham Official site: “We need to get the points against West Ham, we know that. It’s a big game for us and that’s where the focus is. The game at the Cottage follows Saturday’s match very quickly, so it helps us move on from that performance.”
“It’s a chance for us to put some distance between ourselves and the two clubs below: West Ham and Sunderland – our next two opponents in the league. It’s a crucial period because we’re playing against teams that are in a similar position in the table
Joey O’Brien told WHUFC.com: “Every game, not just the last one or the next one are all massive games when you are in the position we are in. The manager with his record knows what it takes to get out of it. It is not yet two years yet since we were in the Championship, then got promoted and had a really solid season back up last year and now we are having this dip which we are working hard to get through.”
“But we know that we can only get out of it by winning more games and the objective for us right now is to go to Fulham and play our best to get three points.”
Team News:
James Tomkins picked up a groin injury against West Bromwich Albion and joins fellow centre backs James Collins (calf) and Winston Reid (ankle) on the sidelines.
Andy Carroll has resumed training but is not yet fit enough to feature whilst Ricardo Vaz Te (shoulder) and Stewart Downing (ankle).
Maarten Stekelenburg could return for the Cottagers after David Stockdale deputised in place of the Dutch stopper against Hull City.
Dimitar Berbatov could also be in line for a return after missing the last three games.
Overall record v Fulham (all competitions) W 39 D 20 L 29
TFL News:
· District: Part closure
· Bakerloo: Good service
· Central: Good service
· Circle: Good service
· DLR: Good service
· H’smith & City: Good service
· Jubilee: Good service
· Metropolitan: Good service
· Northern: Good service
· Overground: Good service
· Piccadilly: Good service
· Victoria: Good service
· Waterloo & City: Good service
Bowdenwhu Predicts: Fulham 2 West Ham 3
Come on you Irons!
Tweet me at @Bowdenwhu
