Premier League: West Ham Can Hammer the Weary Cottagers at Home

West Ham United vs Fulham

The Hammers are keen to build a new winning streak here in the Premier League when they’ll host the Cottagers at the London Stadium this weekend.

David Moyes’ men have had a rough start to this 2022-23 season as they were once in the relegation zone, but now they’ve risen to 15^th in the standings with seven points following their 2-0 victory against Wolves on Sunday.

Fulham, meanwhile, suffered an ugly 4-1 loss against Newcastle in the last time out. However, they’re still in the top half of the table – placing eighth with 11 points.

With another intriguing matchup to look forward to, here’s everything you need to know ahead of this fixture courtesy of SBOTOP.

Talking Points

West Ham’s new boys delivering the goods

Gianluca Scamacca and Lucas Paqueta are proving to be worthwhile additions for West Ham United last summer.

After a tough loss to Everton last September, David Moyes turned to fresher faces as his seasoned veterans didn’t do well and now it’s paying dividends.

Gianluca Scamacca scored his first Premier League goal in their victory over Wolves and he notched the winning goal against Anderlecht last night in the Europa League. Overall, he’s now their top scorer with five goals across all competitions.

On the other hand, Lucas Paqueta has yet to open his account for the Hammers this season, but his intangibles and passing are just as crucial. The Brazilian playmaker came off the bench last night and was the one who assisted Scamacca’s match-winning goal with his lovely skill.

With both of them fairly rested since they weren’t in the starting lineup against Anderlecht, Scamacca and Paqueta are likely to play heavy minutes against Fulham and both are expected to be in the Premier League 2022 highlights reel this Sunday.

Injury blows for Fulham

Marco Silva is facing selection headaches ahead of this contest with at least eight players in the injured/suspended list.

Antonee Robinson (foot), Willian (calf), Kenny Tete (muscular), Aleksandar Mitrovic (ankle), Layvin Kurzawa (muscular), Manor Solomon (knee), and Harry Wilson (knee) are all in the treatment room, while Nathaniel Chalobah will serve his suspension since he was red carded against the Magpies.

The absence of Aleksandar Mitrovic hurts Fulham the most since he’s their most potent attacker with six goals so far this season. The Serbian hitman lasted just 34 minutes against Newcastle and had to be withdrawn as his injured ankle flared up.

Bobby Decordova-Reid, Carlos Vinicius, and Daniel James would all have to do more with Mitrovic likely to sit this one out, but the good news is that Joao Palhinha is ready to go after serving his one-match ban last week.

Similar to Paqueta for West Ham United, Palhinha is a skillful playmaker and he brings the much-needed intensity and physicality at midfield for Fulham. Getting him for £20-M this summer is indeed a huge bargain for the Cottagers.

History

West Ham United enter this contest with a four-match home winning streak in the league against Fulham and they’re undefeated in their last 11 (W7, D4) – which is their second-longest top-flight home winning run against any other side. Their longest is against Hull City between 2009 and 2016 (W5 – ongoing).

Fulham have secured just one clean sheet in their 21 top-flight away matches against West Ham United, conceding 49 goals total in the other 20 games.

The Hammers are looking to win consecutive Premier League matches for the first time since a run of three from December to January last season. However, they’ve lost two of their last three league games against newly-promoted sides (W1), which is as many as in their last 16.

The last league meeting between the Hammers and the Cottagers took place in February 2021 where both sides couldn’t muster a goal and Tomas Soucek was sent off during added time.

Betting Tip

West Ham United are being favoured by the Premier League 2022 odds to win. The Hammers are installed at 1.79, while Fulham are pegged at 4.00 and chances for a draw at 3.80 in the 1X2 market.

Total Goal 2-3 @ 1.96 is another strong possibility since there’ll be some goals that are to be scored. However, we don’t expect this one to be a shootout.

The Hammers have built some momentum in these past few weeks. And with a fit squad to choose from compared to the Cottagers, this should give the hosts the edge to claim all three points from this contest.

 

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