West Ham U23s travel across London as they visit Fulham for their Premier League 2 Division 2 clash on Friday night.
Return Fixture
Dmitri Halajko’s side met the Cottagers in what was his first competitive game for the club, handing Fulham a 3-0 defeat in the season’s opener at the Rush Green Stadium, setting the tone for The Hammers’ domestic season.
West Ham travel to Fulham in fine form, having scored 16 goals in their last four Premier League 2 games.
The Hammers are still yet to be beaten in the league this season.
With 10 wins from a possible 11, Halajko and his squad will be hoping to keep their winning streak intact when they face Mark Pembridge’s side.
High Hopes For Holland
Both Nathan Holland and Anthony Scully were on target again when the Hammers faced Brighton U23 in the Premier League International Cup on Wednesday.
The two forwards have been the Hammers stand-out performers this season, having already amounted 24 goals and 10 assists between them.
Holland recently made his Premier League debut, coming on as a late substitute in West Ham’s 2-0 defeat at Wolves on Wednesday.
Despite the defeat, Holland was still positive on his cameo appearance:
“I’m happy with how I did. I just tried to be positive. The experience today was amazing, so I’ll just keep working hard and hopefully I’ll get more of it.”
The versatile attacker will be hoping that his influential performances in the PL2 Division 2 will continue at Motspur Park.
The Opposition
Fulham come into the fixture off the back of a 2-0 victory against Plymouth Argyle U23s in the Premier League Cup.
The Cottagers comfortably brushed aside their lower-league opposition with goals from Academy products Timmy Abraham and Sonny Hilton.
The West London side have had an inconsistent season to date, as they sit in eighth place in the PL2 Division 2 table, but with the wind in their sails they will be looking to put a dent in their visitor’s fantastic record, in their final home game of the calendar year.
With it all to play for in the PL2 Division 2, the Hammers will be confident of taking home all three points, but it will be by no means an easy task as they look to get the better of Fulham.
Cause For Concern
Both teams have shown that they’re capable of scoring goals this season. West Ham have scored in every game they’ve played this season, whereas Fulham have scored in all but three games this term.
October 21st was the last time that Pembridge’s side failed to score a goal, which coincidentally was the last time that West Ham kept a clean sheet away from home, in a 4-0 win at Stoke.
It promises to be an exciting game under the floodlights. A win for the Irons will put them 6 points clear of Manchester United in the league table, prior to their fixture on Monday.
With the season at the half way point, Halajko will be hoping his side can go on to win the title.
