Difficile prevederlo a inizio stagione, ma Fulham e West Ham arrivano al derby dannatamente invischiate nella lotta per la salvezza. Parecchi in dubbio nelle due squadre, Berbatov e Taarabt nel Fulham.
Si era capito sin dalle prime partite che la difesa del Fulham è ridicola, e 41 gol concessi sinora, nove in più della seconda difesa più battuta, confermano l'impietosa verità di questa affermazione.
Vedremo se Rene Meulensteen, coadiuvato dalnuovo direttore tecnico, l'ex Charlton Alan Curbishley come technical director e Ray Wilkins come assistant head coach, un trio quindi, riuscirà a invertire la tendenza.
Oltre a sistemare la difesa sarà cruciale recuperare Berbatov, assente da tre partite, e rilanciare uno spento Bent. Sulla carta, infatti, l'attacco del Fulham è fortissimo, ma in concreto non funziona.
Non va meglio all'odioso West Ham, che con soli nove gol in trasferta (di cui tre in una sola partita) ha un attacco decisamente sterile. Ecce credo, con un allenatore come Big Sam Allardyce!
Quello che è certo è che il Craven Cottage non perdonerà altri passi falsi dei giocatori in maglia bianca dopo l'inaccettabile, vergognoso, sei a zero di Hull.
BBC STATS
Head-to-head
Fulham's 3-1 win over West Ham last January was only their second victory over the Hammers in 12 league and cup meetings at Craven Cottage since 1975 (W2, D3, L7).
Fulham did not manage a single shot on target against West Ham in November's reverse fixture at Upton Park, a 3-0 defeat.
Thirteen goals have been scored in the last three league fixtures between the two sides at Craven Cottage.
Fulham
Rene Meulensteen's men, beaten 6-0 at Hull on Saturday, have let in 15 goals in their last four league games.
Fulham would be 11th in the table if only results against clubs in the bottom half counted (W5, D1, L3).
The west London side have won all three matches when they have kept a clean sheet. However no club has kept fewer clean sheets than the Whites.
Fulham have conceded the first goal (14) more often than any other Premier League side this season.
West Ham
West Ham are winless in their last six league matches. Their only victory in the last 12 games was November's 3-0 victory over Fulham.
The Hammers have one point fewer (15) than they did at this stage of the 2010-11 season when they were last relegated from the Premier League.
West Ham have kept eight clean sheets this campaign, the joint-highest in the league along with Arsenal, Everton and Tottenham.
Carlton Cole has scored seven goals in his last nine league games against Fulham. He also managed to score an own goal in a 3-2 defeat for the Hammers in 2010.
Also related to this story
West Ham to sign striker Gordon 31 Dec 2013 WEST HAM
Wilkins joins Fulham coaching team 30 Dec 2013 FULHAM
