Premier League: Euro Chasers Host Survival Seekers

Fulham vs West Ham United

When I saw that West Ham had conceded an early goal on Saturday afternoon, I asked myself the question: do they really want to stay up?

The primary objective for any Premier League struggler travelling to a big club is try and keep it tight for the first 20 minutes and silence the home crowd.

So, for the Hammers to concede not once but twice at Liverpool inside the opening 24 minutes was the complete opposite of what was required.

Sure, Nuno Espírito Santo’s men did manage to find the net twice later on.

Their only issue is, they also conceded three more times to go down to a 5-2 defeat.

Remarkably, despite their struggles, they remain just two points behind Nottingham Forest who sit 17th, the position immediately above the drop zone.

Now, as Santo prepares to bring his men across east London to west London for a visit to the Thames, they will have a second away assignment in five days to try and claim some vital points on the board.

Talking Points

No doubt their spirits were lifted slightly by Forest’s 2-1 reverse at Brighton on Sunday but, while Forest – who, of course, were managed by Santo at the start of the campaign – have been unfortunate in a number of their recent setbacks, the same cannot be said for the ‘east enders’.

Some reports suggested the manner of their weekend defeat was misleading and that they are improving, as shown by going through the majority of February unbeaten.

Either way, it couldn’t have helped morale when, shortly before kick-off, it was reported the club will need to sell players this summer (even if they avoid relegation) after revealing a £104.2 million loss for the last financial year.

Presumably it’s already been an expensive half year for the club since they sacked Graham Potter in September, just nine months after appointing him.

By contrast, Fulham appear to have found their mojo again over the last fortnight with victory at Stoke in the FA Cup, followed by success at Sunderland and home to Spurs in the Premier League.

Sunday’s 2-1 victory was only the second time in their history that they had completed the league double over Tottenham, after doing so last in the 2003-04 campaign.

Their latest Premier League 2026 highlights moved them up to ninth in the standings and, given eighth place may even be enough to earn them a return to European football next season, the Cottagers are probably feeling more upbeat now than at any time this term.

With boss Marco Silva still yet to sign a new deal (the current contract expires this summer), a return to Europe for the first time in 13 years would surely be a fillip for the popular Portuguese boss to stay.

History

West Ham United are currently in the Premier League relegation zone — West Ham United players during their match against Queens Park Rangers

Two clubs from the capital with a reputation for playing good football, I automatically think of the 1975 FA Cup Final as their most prestigious meeting.

It was a game in which the Hammers triumphed 2-0 thanks to a second half double from Alan Taylor against a Cottagers side who were playing in the second tier and included former West Ham and England great Bobby Moore in their ranks.

That is one of 52 West Ham victories over the years compared to 35 Fulham triumphs and 25 draws.

Their inaugural clash came in December 1898, in the former Southern League Division Two, is recorded as a 2-1 West Ham success with B. Gresham and J. Reynolds the marksmen.

Their very first top flight game was at Craven Cottage in 1959 when the home side emerged 1-0 victors.

Fulham also won their first ever Premier League clash in 2001 as the French contingent of Sylvain Legwinski and Steed Malbranque scored the goals in a 2-0 win at Upton Park.

Although Fulham recorded a 3-0 FA Cup success there in 2004, that was the last time they beat West Ham on their own turf in the league which meant they had never won at the London Stadium (which the Hammers moved to in 2016) until a league double two seasons ago.

Last term at the London Stadium, Alex Iwobi netted twice.

Yet that wasn’t enough as goals from Carlos Soler, Tomas Soucek and Lucas Paqueta sealed a 3-2 home win for West Ham.

The earlier season meeting at Craven Cottage had ended one apiece with Danny Ings equalising in stoppage time after Raul Jimenez had fired Fulham in front midway through the first half.

Jimenez scored the only goal of the game to give Fulham a late victory on West Ham turf at Christmas.