Fulham Match Preview

West Ham United’s busy September schedule continues tonight, as they face a Carabao Cup third-round tie at home to Premier League outfit Fulham.

The Hammers have played their last two matches under lights and they are always special occasions in Stratford so, they will be hoping that this one is no different and they can hopefully provide a shock and progress to the next stage of this competition.

It is fair to say that a lot has changed at Craven Cottage during the summer. After former Head-Coach Marco Silva decided not to sign a new deal in West London and instead returned to Portugal to take over at Benfica. The club’s hierarchy went through a detailed and lengthy process and decided that Spaniard Álvaro Arbeloa was the man that they wanted to take them forward.

Life as a Head-Coach in the top-flight hasn’t exactly started well for him with defeats to Chelsea, Sunderland and Crystal Palace in his first three games. Having said that though, they face Nuno Espírito Santo’s team off the back of a goalless draw against Liverpool at Anfield. As Fulham remain a top-flight outfit, they entered the competition in the second-round and booked their place at this stage by winning a home encounter against Sky Bet League One side AFC Wimbledon after the third-round draw had been made.

There will also be confidence going through the home players too after the Irons beat Wrexham 6-0 on Friday night. Taking all that into account, this tie might not be as easy as Arbeloa might have been thinking at that time.

It was a win apiece when the two teams met in the top-flight last season. The Cottagers won 1-0 here back on 27 December and Espírito Santo’s men will be looking to avenge that loss and follow-up their own 1-0 victory in the reverse fixture less than three months later.

West Ham went strong for their first-round tie against fellow Sky Bet Championship outfit Portsmouth but as games were starting to then come thick and fast, the Irons’ boss decided to go with a side that predominantly consisted of Development Squad players for the second-round trip to Southampton and it eventually paid off, as despite going a goal down in the opening stages, they eventually won 4-1.

Should tonight’s encounter end level after ninety minutes, a penalty shoot-out will then take place to decide who goes into Wednesday night’s draw for the next stage. Fans may also take note that no VAR will be in operation here, but goal-line technology will be used.

The hosts have had the weekend off so should be the fresher of the two sides, whereas the visitors had to travel to Merseyside for Saturday’s match.

The home fans may have forgotten that Slaven Bilić brought Arbeloa to East London for a short spell at the start of the 2016/17 season and they will hope to send him back across the capital empty-handed.

Sad news emerged from Stratford on Monday morning, as former goalkeeper, Coach and club legend Luděk Mikloško had passed away following a long battle with cancer. Due to the short notice of his passing, the club have said that they will show their appreciation for the 64-year-old before kick-off tonight. The Czech stopper also played for Queens Park Rangers and, as they happen to be the next visitors to Stratford on 9 October, after the extended international break, then full tributes will be paid at that match.

With Saturday’s match against bitter rivals Millwall in mind, it will be interesting to see who Espírito Santo selects in his starting line-up here. Kyle Walker-Peters, Oliver Scarles, Mohamadou Kanté, Edvin Austbø and Pablo Felipe all started on the bench for the encounter four days ago. However, if he decides that youth is the order of the day, then youngsters Finlay Herrick, Airidas Golambeckis, Lewis Orford and Joshua Ajala could all get another chance to shine.

Nottingham Forest loanee Morato made his full debut against Phil Parkinson’s men and the Portuguese may decide that he could help the youngsters, while Adama Boiro is still waiting for a first start.

Defender Joël Veltman picked up an injury in the first half hour against the Red Dragons and will face a late fitness test to determine whether he is able to feature here. Max Kilman captained the side in the last round at St Mary’s and he could do so again, as the defender is in line to retain his place. However, two youngsters that won’t be involved here are Preston Fearon and Ryan Battrum as it was confirmed on Monday afternoon that the pair have made short-term loan moves to Enterprise National League clubs Forest Green Rovers and Southend United respectively.

The match is a 7:45pm kick-off and live coverage will be available on Sky Sports. The referee is Gavin Ward.