Will Fulham move up to the top half of the table?
Anyone who backs the Hammers in the West Ham vs. Fulham tip is used to heartache and worry. Once again, the Irons’ fans are feeling the pull of the relegation zone up close and personal – in the best sports betting apps, they are not even favorites in their home game against a mid-table team from the English top flight.
The home team has finished two of its last three seasons in double digits – ending the year in 14th place each time. Currently, Nuno Espirito Santos’s team is only in 18th place. In our West Ham vs. Fulham prediction, the Hammers are not leaving this first relegation spot for the time being.
On the other side, the Cottagers are currently taking advantage of the opportunity to break free from the lower reaches of the table by winning direct duels with teams from the lower half of the table. Head coach Marco Silva has enjoyed two consecutive wins (3-2 vs. Burnley, 1-0 vs. Nottingham), which have propelled his team into a secure mid-table position.
Other West Ham – Fulham betting odds, on the other hand, offer value and have been moved up in our analysis. Our recommendation is one of these betting options: “Fulham Over 1.5 Goals” – Bet365 offers 2.20 times your stake in winnings and is one of the first places to go.
The Hammers are neither strong at home nor defensively and have been waiting for a win for six match days (3D, 3L). Also striking: since the appointment of Nuno Espirito Santo, the relegation-threatened club has not finished a PL appearance without conceding a goal (eleven games played during this period).
West Ham – Fulham Head-to-head record / H2H record
The Cottagers last visited the London Stadium on matchday 21 of last season. That nerve-wracking encounter ended in a 2-3 defeat to the Hammers. Prior to that, Fulham had gone three direct duels without defeat (2W, 1D).
At this point in the season, we give the visitors the better chance of taking all three points. Except for Wolverhampton (1), no Premier League team has earned fewer points at home than the Hammers (6), whose 20 goals conceded are the second-worst record.
West Ham – Fulham Tip
As we have come to expect from Nuno Espirito Santo since his time at Nottingham Forest, he has his new team defend deeper than any other team in the English top flight. The Hammers allow around 16.2 passes per defensive action in the front parts of the field. However, the back line is far from stable.
The Portuguese coach is still waiting for his first clean sheet with his new club – eleven attempts have already failed. Even worse, seven of the eleven matches ended with at least two goals conceded. Over the entire season, the Hammers have conceded more than two goals per home game (20 goals in eight home games).
The home side’s style of play involves surviving a lot of shots from their opponents – in the best case scenario, they concede shots from hopeless positions. So far, this idea has not been particularly successful. West Ham have conceded the most shots on their own goal (92). The average quality of chances has been significantly too high (0.11 xGA/shot).
Fulham may not be one of the strongest offensive teams in the Premier League, but their shot conversion rate (12.44 percent) is one of the seven best in English top-flight soccer and gives the visitors a good starting position.
