Having both marched to impressive victories in the midweek round of fixtures, Fulham and West Ham United seek to prolong their respective feel-good factors in Sunday's clash at Craven Cottage.
The hosts put five past Nottingham Forest in an attacking masterclass on Wednesday, while the Irons came from a goal down to inflict a 2-1 defeat on Tottenham Hotspur a day later.
Match preview
© Reuters
Fulham did not quite drive the final nail into Steve Cooper's Nottingham Forest coffin, but the Cottagers have seemingly put the under-fire Tricky Trees coach on the cusp of receiving his P45 thanks to a scintillating five-star showing at Craven Cottage in midweek.
Not since pre-COVID days in January 2020 had Raul Jimenez scored more than once in a Premier League game, but the Mexican marksman ended that barren run with a delightful double, while Alex Iwobi's own brace and a Tom Cairney fifth also contributed to the rout.
A consistent threat in the final third has often evaded Fulham since Aleksandar Mitrovic was seduced by Saudi Arabian riches over the summer, but with 11 goals from their last three fixtures - having also put three past Liverpool and Wolverhampton Wanderers - the Cottagers may be about to establish themselves as a formidable attacking force once again.
Thanks to their second win from three Premier League contests - and their second on the spin at home - Marco Silva's men have shot up to 12th in the table and are comfortably nine points clear of the demotion zone, while also cutting the gap to local foes Brentford and Chelsea to just the one point.
Victory for Fulham this weekend would see the Cottagers prevail in three straight Premier League home games for the first time since 2012, but Silva's side have gone 11 London derbies without a win in the top flight, whereas West Ham thrived under the capital pressure on Thursday.
© Reuters
Before pitting his wits against Ange Postecoglou, David Moyes had previously tried and failed on 39 occasions to beat a traditional 'Big Six' team away from home, but the experienced Scotsman ended that hoodoo on Thursday thanks to yet another Tottenham capitulation.
For the fifth game running, Tottenham took the lead only to be pegged back, as Jarrod Bowen capitalised on a double deflection to cancel out a Cristian Romero header, before James Ward-Prowse also made the most of a Destiny Udogie-Guglielmo Vicario calamity to finish into an empty net at the second attempt.
It initially appeared that West Ham would deservedly walk away with zero points under their belt as Tottenham ran them off the park in the opening period, but Postecoglou's men were left to lament several wasted openings to steer further clear, and any choice words from Moyes during the break went down a treat.
Boasting five wins from their last six competitions during a terrific spell of festive form, the Irons are currently enjoying a ninth-placed ranking, and only four points separate them from fifth-placed Tottenham in the intense battle for a continental berth.
While Moyes's men are still waiting to keep their first Premier League clean sheet of the season away from home, the Hammers have scored in each of their last nine road contests in the division and have five wins to show from their last six meetings with Fulham, whose most recent victory in this fixture came on New Year's Day 2014.
Team News
© Reuters
There has been very little movement in the Fulham infirmary recently, but Silva confirmed at his pre-game press conference that Adama Traore and Rodrigo Muniz are "much closer" to making their returns from thigh and knee problems respectively.
Silva will assess the pair on Saturday before deciding whether they are ready to play against West Ham, but Issa Diop's foot injury is still giving him grief, and he is not expected to return until later this month.
Even if Traore and Muniz are given the green light to return to action, neither man will be expecting to force their way back into the starting XI, although one alteration could see Tim Ream return to the backline in place of Calvin Bassey following the American's well-earned midweek rest.
As for West Ham, first-choice goalkeeper Alphonse Areola was ruled out of the win over Tottenham with a minor ligament injury in his wrist, which may or may not heal in time for the Frenchman to be involved at Craven Cottage.
Thirty-eight-year-old Lukasz Fabianski - who made his first league start of the season on Thursday - should be ready to continue as the last line of defence, while Michail Antonio may still need another couple of weeks of recovery from a knee problem.
While speculation surrounding a possible striker signing in January continues to rage, makeshift centre-forward Bowen joined an exclusive club on Thursday by scoring for the seventh Premier League away game running; only Sergio Aguero and Robin van Persie have previously achieved that feat.
Fulham possible starting lineup:
Leno; Castagne, Adarabioyo, Ream, Robinson; Cairney, Palhinha; Iwobi, Pereira, Willian; Jimenez
West Ham United possible starting lineup:
Fabianski; Coufal, Zouma, Aguerd, Emerson; Soucek, Alvarez; Kudus, Ward-Prowse, Paqueta; Bowen
We say: Fulham 1-2 West Ham United
Having found their best shooting boots again, Fulham fans have every right to expect another goal-laden affair at Craven Cottage, especially given West Ham's tendency to ship goals away from home.
While neither backline should emerge unscathed, the Irons have been in stellar form both continentally and domestically and boast the fourth-most goals on the road in the Premier League this term, so we still have faith in Moyes's charges to continue their golden run and give the Cottagers a bit of a reality check.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
