An all-London Premier League battle takes place at Craven Cottage on Saturday afternoon when Fulham play host to West Ham United.
Both teams, who failed to win their final matches prior to the international break, square off for the first time since April when the Hammers were beaten 2-0 by the Cottagers at the London Stadium.
Match preview
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After losing their opening Premier League game of the new season to Manchester United by a 1-0 scoreline, Fulham responded by picking up four points from their next two fixtures prior to the international break.
The Cottagers celebrated their first win of 2024-25 when they beat Leicester City 2-1 on home soil, shortly before claiming a 2-0 EFL Cup success over Birmingham City, but they were forced to share the spoils in a 1-1 draw with Ipswich Town in their most recent top-flight fixture a fortnight ago.
Adama Traore cancelled out Liam Delap's early opener to ensure that Marco Silva's men came away with a point from Portman Road - a somewhat positive result for the Portuguese boss after experiencing a "difficult" second half against their newly-promoted counterparts.
Sitting 13th in the table, Fulham have only won three of their last 12 Premier League games, including results from last season, with two of those victories coming against newly-promoted teams and the other against none other than Saturday's opponents West Ham - the aforementioned 2-0 away triumph five months ago.
Indeed, the Cottagers did the double over West Ham last season, winning by an aggregate score of 7-0, and are now seeking to beat the Hammers in three consecutive league games for the first time since between October 1965 and October 1966.
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Julen Lopetegui has experienced a mixed start to life in the West Ham hotseat, as his side have celebrated two victories and suffered two defeats in their opening four matches across all competitions.
A 2-1 opening-weekend defeat at home to Aston Villa in the Premier League was followed by back-to-back wins over Crystal Palace and Bournemouth, the latter of which was in the EFL Cup, but they were unable to enter the international break on a high as they were beaten 3-1 at home to reigning top-flight champions Manchester City.
Ruben Dias's 19th-minute own goal cancelled out Erling Haaland's early opener to give the Hammers fans something to cheer, but keeping Man City's deadly No.9 quiet ultimately proved challenging for the hosts, as he netted two more goals to complete his hat-trick and condemn Lopetegui to his second successive league loss at the London Stadium.
West Ham will welcome a trip away from East London as three of their last four Premier League victories have come on the road. Having already beaten Palace away from home this term, Lopetegui and co will endeavour to win their opening two away league games of a season for the first time since 2015-16 when they travel to Craven Cottage on Saturday.
The Hammers have reason to be optimistic of success this weekend as they have won 16 of their 28 Premier League meetings with Fulham - their best win rate against any team that they have faced at least five times in the division (57%).
Team News
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While many Premier League teams are dealing with a number of injury issues, Fulham are one of the few sides who currently have a clean bill of health heading into this weekend.
Silva will consider handing summer signing Sander Berge his full Premier League debut for the Cottagers, with the Norwegian pushing to start in midfield alongside Andreas Pereira and Emile Smith Rowe.
Fellow new recruit Joachim Andersen could make his first top-flight appearance for Fulham since re-joining the club from Crystal Palace, replacing either Issa Diop or Calvin Bassey at centre-back, while Traore will hope to retain his starting spot on the right flank ahead of Harry Wilson.
As for West Ham, summer signing Niclas Fullkrug is doubtful after picked up a knock, related to his Achilles tendon and calf muscle, while on international duty, while Aaron Cresswell remains sidelined with a hamstring injury.
Goalkeeper Alphonse Areola is in line to stay in the starting lineup despite being replaced at half time in the defeat to Man City last time out with a back problem.
Deadline-day arrival Carlos Soler is in contention to make his debut for the Hammers, but the midfielder will likely begin as a substitute, with Lopetegui set to stick with Guido Rodriguez, Edson Alvarez and Lucas Paqueta in the middle of the pitch.
Fulham possible starting lineup:
Leno; Tete, Andersen, Bassey, Robinson; Berge, Pereira; Traore, Smith Rowe, Iwobi; Muniz
West Ham United possible starting lineup:
Areola; Wan-Bissaka, Todibo, Kilman, Emerson; Alvarez, Rodriguez; Bowen, Paqueta, Kudus; Antonio
We say: Fulham 2-2 West Ham United
Fulham have been a strong outfit on home soil for some time and will fancy their chances of success against a West Ham side who they thrashed 5-0 in this exact fixture last season. The Hammers will be no pushovers this time around, though, and even if Fullkrug misses out, they still have a number of players who can cause the Cottagers problems in the final third.
Only two of the last 16 meetings between these two teams in all competitions have ended all square, but we can see the spoils being shared in this weekend's contest.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Oliver Thomas
