West Ham United will endeavour to bounce back from their narrow defeat to Liverpool when they welcome Fulham to the London Stadium for Saturday's derby in the Premier League.
In contrast, Scott Parker's men finally managed to register a win in the top flight as they overcame West Bromwich Albion 2-0 on Monday night.
Match preview
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West Ham have managed to navigate a challenging run of fixtures with determination and have certainly outperformed expectations, with Wolverhampton Wanderers and Leicester City suffering crushing defeats to David Moyes's men in recent weeks.
The Hammers also claimed two points from their showdowns with Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City, but a trip to the champions Liverpool proved to be a step too far for West Ham as they succumbed to a 2-1 defeat at Anfield.
Hammers fans could have been forgiven for dreaming about ending Liverpool's astonishing home record when Pablo Fornals netted the opener, but Mohamed Salah won and converted a controversially-awarded penalty before Diogo Jota came off the bench to wrap up all three points for Liverpool.
West Ham had to make do without Michail Antonio for the trip to Merseyside and were certainly lacking that little bit extra in attack, with the less said about Sebastien Haller's performance the better, but there is no shame in losing to the champions on their own turf and West Ham can now focus on bouncing back this weekend.
Since falling to a 2-0 defeat to Newcastle United in gameweek one, West Ham have since taken the spoils in three of their last four home matches in all competitions, and Moyes's men are now facing a Fulham side still awaiting their first victory on the road this season.
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It was becoming increasingly difficult to see where Fulham's first three points of the season might have come from, but Parker's men won the battle between two newly-promoted sides as they put two past West Brom without reply on Monday night.
Bobby Decordova-Reid and Ola Aina both got in on the act as they netted within four minutes of each other at Craven Cottage, with Parker's men managing to lift themselves out of the relegation zone with that victory.
Despite picking up their first win of the season, there can be no denying that it has been nothing short of a woeful start to life back in the big time for Fulham, but a dominant victory with a clean sheet should give the Cottagers a much-needed confidence boost before this weekend's London derby.
Parker will be desperate for another win here as the tough fixtures come thick and fast for Fulham after the international break - the Cottagers must take on Everton, Leicester, Man City and Liverpool in their first four games back.
West Ham did the double over Fulham during the 2018-19 Premier League season - winning 2-0 at Craven Cottage before prevailing 3-1 at home two months' later.
West Ham United Premier League form: LWWDDL
West Ham United form (all competitions): WLWDDL
Fulham Premier League form: LLLDLW
Fulham form (all competitions): LLLDLW
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Antonio is West Ham's solitary long-term concern, with the Englishman expected to remain sidelined for at least another two weeks, but Moyes has a huge call to make up top nonetheless.
Haller drew plenty of criticism for his performance at Anfield, and with Said Benrahma now getting closer to match fitness, the Frenchman's spot could be under threat should Jarrod Bowen be moved to a central role.
However, Moyes insisted that he retains faith in Haller and he should start again here, but stalwart Mark Noble is not expected to take part owing to a rib problem.
Fulham also have a striker of their own missing as Aboubakar Kamara continues to serve a suspension, with Aleksandar Mitrovic looking to end a run of five games without a top-flight goal.
Parker would have hoped not to have been forced into any changes after managing to lead Fulham to victory earlier this week, but Mario Lemina had to be withdrawn at half time and is touch and go for this one.
Should the Southampton loanee indeed miss out here, Harrison Reed should come in to partner Andre Zambo Anguissa in midfield.
West Ham United possible starting lineup:
Fabianski; Coufal, Ogbonna, Balbuena, Cresswell, Masuaku; Bowen, Rice, Soucek, Fornals; Haller
Fulham possible starting lineup:
Areola; Aina, Andersen, Adarabioyo, Robinson; Anguissa, Reed; Reid, Cairney, Lookman; Mitrovic
We say: West Ham United 2-1 Fulham
Having finally managed to register a Premier League win at the seventh attempt in the 2020-21 campaign, Fulham will be aware that their trip to the London Stadium represents possibly their best chance of another triumph for the next month or so. However, West Ham have performed valiantly over the past few weeks and are sure to feel confident of returning to winning ways here, so we are backing Moyes's men to come out on top in the capital.
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