WHZ View: Fulham v West Ham – Where can the game be won?
West Ham travel across the capital to Craven Cottage on Saturday to face relegation battlers Fulham in a London Derby.
The Hammers are flying at the moment. Wednesday’s win against Aston Villa made it seven out of eight games won in 2021 so far.
Our hosts aren’t having quite as good a season. Fulham are 18th in the table and eight points clear of safety. They haven’t won in the league since November 30th at the King Power Stadium to Leicester City.
It’s a big game for both clubs at opposite ends of the table. With that in mind, West Ham Zone looked at potential areas where the match can be won for the Hammers.
Antonio developing his game
In his last five league games, Michail Antonio has been directly involved in five goals for the Hammers. He’s found the net against West Brom and Burnley, whilst assisting against Crystal Palace and twice against Villa.
It’s been good to see him linking up so well with the rest of our frontline. In particular, Jesse Lingard, for whom Antonio set up both goals at Villa Park.
In our last game, all three of our goals came as a result of our midfielders running beyond Antonio and pushing forward. He’s shown in recent games the ability to drop back and find through balls, rather than solely being the spearhead of the attack.
Tight at the back
This season we’ve become tactically sound with regards to set pieces. We’re the best team in the Premier League at scoring and defending set-pieces, scoring 11 and conceding just twice [Who Scored].
Fulham have scored just once from set-plays in the league, the worst in the division. With the likes of Rice, Ogbonna, Dawson and Soucek defending, we’ve should be able to hold out on Saturday.
Overall, Fulham have scored just 17 times this season. This is worsened only by Sheffield United and Burnley. The Hammers have found the net 34 times in 21 games.
Dominant Dawson
The man continues to receive so much credit since coming into the side. Dawson was written off before he’d even worn the shirt at the start of the season. He’s won over the entire fanbase with his solid displays at the back.
The Englishman has scored three goals for the Hammers since his debut against Southampton on December 29. Three in eight games is very impressive for a centre back, but it’s something he’s been doing for years.
Since the start of the 09/10 season, Dawson has scored more league goals than any defender in Englands top four leagues. A whopping 41 goals for our number 15.
Astonishing!
In other West Ham news, Steve Sidwell thinks we’ve made the signing of the season with this man.