West Ham United host Fulham on Sunday as the Hammers look to extend their win streak to three games.
West Ham come into this game in their best form of the season with wins against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Anderlecht in their last two fixtures.
Fulham travel to the London Stadium in indifferent form after being thrashed 1-4 at home to Newcastle in their last game but earning a 2-3 win over Nottingham Forest before the international break.
In terms of team news for this weekend, West Ham are without just two first team players. Maxwell Cornet is expected to be out for another week or two after coming off injured in the win against Wolves last week. Also, new signing Nayef Aguerd will remain out of this game despite closing in on fitness.
Lukasz Fabianski is expected to start in goal despite Alphonse Areola’s heroics away at Anderlecht on Thursday. However, Flynn Downes could be handed his first Premier League start after impressing in the same fixture. Said Benrahma failed to impress on Thursday, so Pablo Fornals is expected to start on the left of the attack.
Fulham look set to be without key man Aleksandar Mitrovic, who suffered an ankle injury on international duty with Serbia. New signings Manor Solomon and Layvin Kurzawa are also guaranteed to miss this fixture through injury, while Nathaniel Chalobah is suspended after a red card last week. Late calls will be made on Mitrovic, Kenny Tete, Antonee Robinson and Harry Wilson.
Club captain Tom Cairney is expected to replace the suspended Chalobah. There isn’t a guaranteed replacement for Mitrovic if he isn’t fit to start. Both Daniel James and Bobby Decordova-Reid will be considered to start at striker for the Cottagers.
This game is very important for both sides. If West Ham can win it shows they should be taken seriously after three wins in a row, despite a poor start to the Premier League season. A Fulham win will show their fans that they can bounce back after a heavy defeat and they might challenge for more than just staying up this season.