BBC Sport pundit Mark Lawrenson has delivered his prediction for West Ham United’s clash with Fulham on Saturday, opting for a 2-1 Fulham win.
The Hammers go into the game at Craven Cottage on the back of three straight wins, but Lawrenson feels Claudio Ranieri’s side will get the job done.
“I was at Old Trafford last weekend to see Fulham lose to Manchester United,” he wrote on the BBC Sport website. “It was far too easy to score goals against the Cottagers and I was a bit perplexed by their attacking approach too.
“Ranieri has fared rather better at Craven Cottage since taking charge, however, taking four points from two games so far. West Ham will arrive on the back of a run of three straight wins and they are a team that can suffer a hiccup from time to time – and it would not surprise me if Fulham find a way of winning this one,” he finished.
OPINION
Lawrenson has really put the cat amongst the pigeons here, hasn’t he? West Ham will likely go into this game as huge favourites and deservedly so. Manuel Pellegrini’s team have been excellent in recent weeks, beating Newcastle United, Cardiff City and Crystal Palace on the bounce, showing that they can overcome teams in and around them in the table. Fulham are not really near West Ham in the table, they are way down at the bottom. The Hammers should be winning this game and should be winning it comfortably. This match will be a test of whether West Ham have developed as a team from where they used to be. As Lawrenson says, in the past this would be a game where the Hammers slip up in, so they will have to show that they have progressed on the pitch by winning this one at a canter. Let’s see if they can do that.
