West Ham v Fulham: Difficult to separate sides in London derby

West Ham host Fulham in a televised clash this Saturday, with the respective results of either side so far making this an intriguing contest.

Home side West Ham, wounded by a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Swansea last week, are 6/4 to triumph, and in turn record their second Upton Park success of the season.

They face an extremely testing proposition in Fulham though, who were unlucky in defeat to Manchester United last week, after kicking off their season with a 5-0 victory over Norwich.

A key performer for the Cottagers in those games was Moussa Dembele though, and his departure to Tottenham could deter some punters from backing an away win at 9/5 here.

Fulham have lost only once to the Hammers in their past four meetings however, with the stalemate the most popular result in this time, occurring on half of these occasions.

It is 9/4 about the draw in this match, and that looks advisable bearing in mind the way each side’s season has progressed in the early stages of the campaign.

Indeed, either side has recorded a home win and suffered an away defeat, so the pair could each be set to finish level for the first time this term.

Meanwhile, it is worth noting that both teams have scored in their past six encounters opposing each other, so the 4/6 about that happening again seems a worthwhile bet.

And the score draw could provide better value for punters as a 3/1 shot, whilst correct score markets could too prove profitable.

1-1 draws most commonly occurred last term for either side, and thus, 11/2 odds regarding this scoreline on Saturday look very tempting.

First scorer options look abundant in this game also, with either side able to boast significant goal threats.

Mladen Petric is 11/2 favourite to open the scoring for the visitors, this in the aftermath of a debut brace for the Croatian forward that endeared him to Cottagers fans.

For the home team, Carlton Cole has a point to prove after coming under much scrutiny amidst a disappointing display at Swansea last week, and he’s 6/1.

Whilst Hammers captain Kevin Nolan always poses a threat, and could pay dividends as a 9/1 shot to break the deadlock, and follow up his opening-day Upton Park winner.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.