Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson has predicted that West Ham United will take home the spoils when they face Fulham at Craven Cottage on Saturday.
The Hammers come into this London derby on the back of an impressive 3-2 win over Crystal Palace last weekend, while the Cottagers were subjected to a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Manchester United on the same day.
Merson has predicted a 3-1 win for Manuel Pellegrini’s side on Saturday because they have “good individuals” who can win matches, namely Felipe Anderson and Andy Carroll.
“West Ham have turned the corner. They’re on a roll. They’ve had a lot of hard games this season, and we judged them quite early on, but they’ve bounced back,” he told Sky Sports.
“West Ham have good individual players who can win football matches; Marko Arnautovic is injured, but Felipe Anderson has stepped up big time. Andy Carroll is coming back, and he’ll provide another dimension. What an option to have. I’ve got to go West Ham here.”
OPINION
Considering that Fulham are struggling a bit at the moment – their position at the bottom of the Premier League tells us all we need to know – it is no surprise in the slightest that Merson has gone for the West Ham win here. Even though they conceded two goals when they played Palace last Saturday, the Irons have more than enough quality in their team to overcome Claudio Ranieri’s team with absolute ease. With the form Anderson is in at the moment, he has the ability to tear them apart and Fulham are no doubt fearing facing him at the weekend. Carroll is also a great option to have, just like Merson pointed out – even though he does not score goals galore, he provides another “dimension” to the team that they would not have otherwise had. You have got to fear for Fulham on Saturday – as it is impossible to see anything other than a West Ham win here.
