Fulham v West Ham United
Premier League, Craven Cottage, Saturday 8 April 2023, 3pm BST
West Ham United will seek to bounce back from Wednesday's home humbling by Newcastle United when they make the relatively short trip to west London to take on Fulham on Saturday.
The Irons' elation at beating Southampton last weekend was replaced by disappointment as the Magpies ran riot at London Stadium in midweek.
That result left David Moyes' side 15th in the table, level on 27 points with three other clubs below them and above the relegation zone only on goal difference.
Fulham, meanwhile, are already all but safe on 39 points in tenth place, and still have a chance of securing European qualification if they can finish the season strongly.
Tickets…
Tickets sold out to Bondholders and Season Ticket Holders with 46+ Loyalty Points. Due to the size of the ticket allocation, no ballot was held for this fixture.
Tickets for our upcoming home fixtures with Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United are available on the Ticket Exchange, with Season Ticket Holders who cannot attend fixtures relisting their seats for other supporters to buy. Click here to check availability or relist.
Seats are also on General Sale for our home UEFA Europa Conference League quarter-final second leg with KAA Gent of Belgium on Thursday 20 April.
Travel…
It's Easter weekend so, of course, there is disruption on public transport.
There will be no Elizabeth line service between Abbey Wood and Paddington. Trains from Shenfield will operate via Liverpool Street and not serve Whitechapel.
There will be no Metropolitan line services between Aldgate and Harrow-on-the-Hill.
The Jubilee line will not run between West Hampstead and Stanmore. Replacement bus services will operate.
Greater Anglia and c2c services from Essex into London will NOT be altered!
How to Follow…
Saturday's game will NOT be broadcast live in the UK, but will be shown across the world by the Premier League's international broadcast partners.
You can listen to commentary in the UK on BBC Radio London 94.9FM and worldwide on whufc.com and our official app.
You can follow the action via our live blog on whufc.com and our app and across our social media channels. We will also have highlights and exclusive reaction for you after the final whistle.
Team News...
West Ham United manager David Moyes has no known fresh injury concerns going into Saturday's game. Gianluca Scamacca missed Sunday's win over Southampton and Wednesday's defeat by Newcastle with a sore knee.
Fulham will be without leading scorer Aleksandar Mitrović, who is serving an eight-match ban after being suspended for pushing referee Chris Kavanagh during an FA Cup tie at Manchester United in March.
Neeskens Kebano (ruptured Achilles) is a long-term absentee, while Layvin Kurzawa (knee) is also out, but Willian is available again after serving his own suspension for being sent-off in the aforementioned FA Cup tie at Manchester United.
Opposition...
Fulham have made it third time lucky after their last two Premier League campaigns ended with a swift return to the Championship.
Consecutive seasons in the top-flight was the aim for American businessman Shahid Khan, who brought Fulham in 2013 and, in nine years since, has suffered three relegations and enjoyed three promotions.
After winning promotion in 2018, Fulham spent north of £100m, but went straight back down. After coming up in 2020, the Whites went hard in the loan market, but went straight back down.
This time around, Khan has adopted a more reserved approach when it comes to recruitment, going for quality rather than quantity, and so far it appears to have paid off, with Fulham sitting tenth in the table on 39 points with ten games still to play.
The Whites are managed by former Hull City and Everton boss Marco Silva, who led the west Londoners to the EFL Championship title in his first season at Craven Cottage. Among his summer signings was West Ham defender Issa Diop.
A repeat of the club's record-high Premier League finish of seventh, achieved in 2008/09, is most definitely not beyond Saturday's hosts.
Previous Meetings...
West Ham United and Fulham have met 27 times in the Premier League.
The Irons have had the best of things by far down the years, winning 16, while the Whites have won just four, with seven draws.
The most recent Premier League meeting ended 3-1 in West Ham's favour on 9 October last year, when goals from Jarrod Bowen, Gianluca Scamacca and Michail Antonio cancelled out Andreas Pereira's early opener for the Whites.
Our most recent Premier League visit to Craven Cottage ended goalless on a soaking wet night on 6 February 2021, when Tomáš Souček was controversially sent-off for the Hammers and Alphonse Areola started in goal for the home side.
We also made the trip to west London for a mid-season friendly in December 2022, when Jarrod Bowen was on target in a 1-1 draw.
Match Officials...
Referee: Jarred Gillett
Assistant Referees: Simon Long & Richard West
Fourth Official: David Webb
VAR: Andre Marriner
Assistant VAR: Dan Cook
Born in Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia, Jarred Gillett has been officiating in England since arriving on these shores in 2019.
The 36-year-old previously officiated at the highest level in his homeland, taking charge of five A-League Grand Finals and being named the Hyundai A-League Referee of the Year on five occasions.
Gillett initially started his work in England in the EFL in 2019 and became the first non-English or Irish referee to take charge of a Premier League game in September 2021.
