Premier League: Has the Floodgates Finally Opened for Fulham?

Fulham vs West Ham United

Fulham are seemingly on their way to revive their 2023-24 campaign as they’ve improved to 12^th place in the Premier League standings.

The Cottagers have won two of their last three league matches, including a comprehensive beatdown of Nottingham Forest on Thursday, and now they’re up against an in-form West Ham United on Sunday for the second night of their two-game home stand.

West Ham United are on a six-game unbeaten run across all competitions, and they too are coming off a momentous win, having completed a comeback victory against Tottenham earlier today.

Given their positive run of Premier League 2023 results, the Hammers are now ninth in the table with 24 points, so the pre-game SBOTOP betting odds like their chances this weekend.

Talking Points

Jimenez gets on board for Fulham

Fulham seem to have figured out how to find the back of the net regularly, as they’ve already scored 11 goals in their last three games. They’ve scored three goals each against Wolves and Liverpool before tallying five more against Nottingham Forest last night.

While they’ve conceded several goals on the other side of the pitch against Wolves and Liverpool, that wasn’t the case against Nottingham Forest, as Steve Cooper’s side were held scoreless in the 5-0 result.

It was a coming-out party for the Cottagers, but no one enjoyed it more than Raul Jimenez, who is now the team’s second-leading scorer with three goals after scoring none prior to the month of November.

Jimenez, along with Alex Iwobi, notched a brace against Forest. And after the game, the Mexican striker, who just scored his first goal of the season against Aston Villa only a few weeks ago, breathed a huge sigh of relief.

This was Jimenez’s first brace since January 2020 (Wolves vs. Southampton), before he suffered a skull fracture 10 months later that threatened his football career. Now that he’s back, perhaps this could prove a catalyst for him and his new club.

Bowen on fire for West Ham

Another player to look out for in this contest is Jarrod Bowen, who has been the Hammers’ talisman so far this 2023-24 campaign. The 28-year-old winger is leading West Ham United in scoring with 10 goals, and he also has two assists.

Bowen was instrumental in the Hammers’ 2-1 win over Spurs since he scored the much-needed equaliser for them in the second half after Cris Romero gave the hosts a 1-0 lead during the 11^th minute.

Since then, the momentum has shifted in West Ham United’s favour, and Bowen played a huge role in why it is so.

During the 74^th minute, Bowen forced Guglielmo Vicario to rush off his line after a lazy backpass by Destiny Udogie, and the Tottenham goalie put the ball straight to James Ward-Prowse, who scored the marginal goal.

For some reason, Bowen tends to play better on the road for the Hammers. He has now scored seven goals in seven Premier League away matches this season after scoring just four in his first 69 on the road beforehand.

History

West Ham United have had Fulham’s number here in the Premier League, as they’ve beaten them in five of their last six league meetings (D1) since losing 2-1 on New Year’s Day in 2014.

Their previous meeting ended in a 1-0 win for West Ham United last April, as Harrison Reed recorded an own goal in favour of the Hammers during the 23^rd minute.

Overall, the Hammers have defeated the Cottagers in the Premier League 16 times, which is the second-most against any other opponent in their history (behind Southampton and Tottenham, W20).

Fulham have lost five of their last six matches against fellow London clubs (D1), and they’ve failed to score in each of their losses.

Betting Tip

The Premier League 2023 odds have Fulham as the slight favourites to win on Sunday, which may be a bit surprising. The Cottagers are priced at 2.29 to win, whereas West Ham United are at 2.80 odds, and a draw is at 3.25 in the 1X2 market.

Choosing the winner of this contest is tough to call right now, which is a compliment to Fulham since West Ham United have the better roster on paper.

So instead, we’ll be taking a look at the possible goal count of this contest, and their recent meetings indicate that this might be a low-scoring affair.

While Total Goal 0-1 at 3.37 has a higher value, the safer bet is going for Under 2.50 at 2.02.

 

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