West Ham vs. Fulham – Betting Tips and Premier League Preview

West Ham are in bad form at the moment, having won none of their last five games in all competitions. The Hammers drew their previous two fixtures, and their last win was on 12th January at home against Arsenal. Fortunately for them, their opponents are in an even worse position and are second from the bottom in the league. Fulham’s survival chances get lower with each game they lose.

The Cottagers lost seven from their last eight matches in all competitions. Away from home, they have won two points for the whole season so far, which shows how terrible they are this year. Fulham suffered defeats in ten of their last 11 away games in the league. The last time these two sides met, West Ham won comfortably 0-2 at Craven Cottage, and they will be looking to do the same thing at home.

Team News

The injury situation at West Ham still doesn’t look good. Winston Reid, Carlos Sanchez, Andriy Yarmolenko, Jack Wilshere, and Fabian Balbuena are out long term. Pellegrini hopes to have one of Manuel Lanzini or Samir Nasri available for the matchday, but it’s highly unlikely that any of them will start. West Ham usually starts with the same players almost every game. The only question is whether Zabaleta or Ryan Fredericks will start at right back.

Timothy Fosu-Mensah missed the game against Man United because he’s on loan from there, but now once again he’s available for selection. Fulham’s last game was almost two weeks ago, so new January signings Lazar Markovic and Håvard Nordtveit should have improved their physical condition by now. Last time Ranieri dropped Cairney and Sessegnon from the starting eleven, but that didn’t help the team much, so the duo will hope to make the first team this time. The only injury problems for the visitors are Alfie Mawson and Marcus Bettinelli.

Prediction

West Ham would like to put an end to their winless run, and there are probably not many better opponents to do that than Fulham away. Fulham are in desperate need of points, but they don’t look likely to pick up any at the Olympic Stadium. The visitors are conceding lots of goals, seeing as we saw more than 2.5 goals in five of Fulham’s previous six Premier League Games. When you also include the fact that West Ham have scored at least twice in eight of their last nine games and Fulham have conceded two or more in their previous six league fixtures, then it’s really tempting to place a bet with Betfair on a West Ham win and over 2.5 goals. However, we’ll choose the safer pick here and go for a West Ham win at 6/7.