Following a sensational comeback against Manchester City last weekend and a penalty shootout loss to Chelsea on Wednesday evening, Fulham head to the Hawthorns with growing confidence. Both results in terms of performance were good, though the result was not. The previous four fixtures between the two sides have gone the way of the home side, with clean sheets kept in three of the four as well. This match will also see the Whites face off with their old manager Roy Hodgson, who will be looking for his second win of the season against his previous employers, who’re still searching for their first in the league. Injuries to Dickson Etuhu and Bjorn Helge Riise will see them miss out, though Aaron Hughes and Andrew Johnson are in contention. The Baggies hope to see Shane Long return from an illness, whilst Gabriel Tamas is suspended.
Things have been getting better recently at the Cottage, especially with our new £10 million man Bryan Ruiz showing signs of life, despite missing the decisive spot kick against Chelsea in the League Cup. The positive changes can really be seen between the matches against Newcastle and Manchester City. Shooting accuracy was a third better against The Citizens, and there was also significant improvement in the success of tackling rate, to the tune of 10%. Our back four was dribbled past 9 times against Newcastle, and only on four occasions against City. All of this is more impressive when you consider most pundits see City finishing alongside Manchester United at the top of the table.
With Mark Schwarzer in decent form after a stellar performance against Man City, I expect Odemwingie and Long (if involved in the match) to have a difficult time finding the back of the net, though the absence of Aaron Hughes could be somewhat problematic.
Dempsey, Duff and Murphy were all rested against Chelsea on Wednesday, so we should be able to give them a run for their money. I see this finishing as a 1-0 victory, which will be a huge three points, the first of our season.
