The prospect of a visit to Craven Cottage should be met with a certain degree of confidence by West Ham fans. It is, after all, a happy hunting ground with six victories, a draw and just the solitary defeat – a meaningless game at the back end of the 2009-10 season – in the eight fixtures there since Fulham’s promotion to the Premier League in 2001.
Unfortunately, on this occasion, we make the 14 mile trip across the capital in, quite frankly, wretched form away from the Boleyn.
Since a solitary goal success at Newcastle back in November, our away form reads, one point and two goals from the last six games, and zero points and one goal from the last three, which is the main cause of more and more of us starting to nervously look over our shoulders.
The defeat at Arsenal was, let’s be honest, expected – the team selection seemed to prove this – but it was the defeats at Reading and Sunderland that caused most concern. Maybe we were spoilt by last season’s away record but, even in defeat, the least you should expect is a performance with passion and desire, which was extraordinarily lacking in both games.
On a more positive note, Fulham’s league form is also poor with just two wins in their previous 13 games and, having watched their FA Cup game at Old Trafford on Saturday evening, it wasn’t hard to see why.
However, whilst I was enjoying our next opponents being demolished, it didn’t take a lot of working out – despite Martin Jol naming a strong team – that the game against us is, understandably, their main priority. Therefore, I wasn’t prepared to take too much notice of that performance.
It’s expected that the rested trio of Matt Jarvis, Joe Cole and Mo Diame – assuming the latter doesn’t agree a deal elsewhere in the next 24 hours – will return and this could well be key to how we perform on the night. Whilst I’m not convinced about Jarvis since his arrival – and I never will be about the money spent on him – I’m still of the opinion that these three are potentially the most creative players we’ve got and we are certainly a better team with them in the side.
However, it won’t matter who starts if we don’t shift this recent frustrating habit – the Arsenal game aside – of starting games sloppily, which has culminated in conceding early goals and it doesn’t matter who you’re playing against in this league, you simply cannot afford to keep doing that.
So, what do I hope from Wednesday night?
I have to admit, my confidence in the team is as low as it has been for a while, if I was offered a point right now I would take it without question and as long as we avoid conceding one of those early goals then we can achieve just that.
If not, I fear it could be a long, cold night on the banks of the Thames for the travelling fans.
Match Statistics
2 – Fulham have won just two of their 17 top-flight meetings with West Ham.
6 – The Hammers have won six of their eight Premier League visits to Craven Cottage.
9 – Martin Jol’s side have not kept a clean sheet in their last nine matches.
6 – West Ham have scored just six goals away from home all season, the fewest in the division.
5 – Carlton Cole has scored in each of his last five starts against Fulham, scoring six all together.
91 – Hammers keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen has made 91 saves so far this season, more than any other top-flight stopper.
0 – Fulham are the only side in the capital who are yet to win a top-flight London derby this season.
Head-to-Head (all competitions)
Fulham – 37
Draws – 28
West Ham United – 63
