West Ham United return to Premier League action after securing a midweek European win in Belgium by welcoming Fulham to the London Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
After an uncertain start to the season, David Moyes responded to speculation over his job security by guiding his side to an impressive 2-0 victory over fellow strugglers Wolverhampton Wanderers.
They then consolidated their spot at the summit of Group B in the Europa Conference League with a 1-0 win over RSC Anderlecht in Brussels.
Gianluca Scamacca justified his second league start with a well-taken strike before Jarrod Bowen sealed the comprehensive victory over Wolves to ease the pressure on Moyes, which coincidentally cost Bruno Lage his job.
The three points lifted West Ham out of the relegation zone. Although they are not totally in the clear, Moyes will want his side to build on the morale-boosting success as they look to climb further up the Premier League table.
However, Fulham will prove a tough nut to crack as they are looking to bounce back from a disappointing 4-1 defeat to Newcastle United last time out.
The Cottagers were 3-0 down at half-time courtesy of goals from Callum Wilson, Miguel Almiron and Sean Longstaff, owing largely to Nathaniel Chalobah’s early sending-off following a nasty lunging tackle on Longstaff.
Bobby Reid grabbed a consolation goal late in the game, but only after Almiron netted his second and Newcastle’s fourth, condemning Fulham to only their third loss this season.
Fulham made a promising start to the season, and their early form has seen them climb to eighth place in the Premier League, but they have won just two of their last six games across all competitions.
They are four points ahead of their hosts, and a win will move them closer to the top four, which sets the tone for a pulsating London derby this weekend.
Match Preview
West Ham United
David Moyes would be delusional to believe he is off the hook after the win against Wolves.
The Hammers cannot afford any more slip-ups as they already have a lot of catching up to do if they want to make it to Europe through the league.
Luckily, they have a knack for beating this weekend’s visitors. They have recorded success five times over their last six meetings (D1), and a win on Sunday will move them to within a point of their London rivals.
They will be counting on Scamacca, who has started to find his feet in London after scoring in his last two games, to fire them to victory against the newly promoted side.
Fulham
Asides from being picked apart in their own backyard by the Magpies, Fulham also lost key players to injury, including top scorer Aleksandar Mitrovic.
Carlos Vinicius has some very big shoes to fill, but he will have to do as Fulham have a bone to pick with their hosts.
They have not beaten West Ham since their 2-1 triumph on the final day of the 2013/14 season.
West Ham United vs Fulham Potential Line-ups
West Ham United (4-2-3-1): Lukasz Fabianski; Thilo Kehrer, Craig Dawson, Kurt Zouma, Aaron Cresswell; Tomas Soucek, Declan Rice; Jarrod Bowen, Lucas Paqueta, Pablo Fornals; Gianluca Scamacca.
Fulham (4-2-3-1): Bernd Leno; Kevin Mbabu, Tosin Adarabioyo, Issa Diop, Tim Ream; Joao Palhinha, Harrison Reed; Bobby Reid, Tom Cairney, Daniel James; Aleksandar Mitrovic.
How to Watch?
West Ham United vs Fulham, alongside all other fixtures in England’s top flight, is available to watch online via live Premier League streams.
West Ham United vs Fulham Prediction
Fulham are ravaged by injuries, especially to key players, so we expect them to struggle against a West Ham side that have picked up form and are looking to record back-to-back league wins for the first time this season.
West Ham United 3-1 Fulham.
