My Five Keys To Victory For Fulham Against West Ham - Match Preview

This Saturday, Fulham will be on the road playing West Ham at Upton Park. The game takes place at 3PM UK Time and 10 AM EST. The game will be shown on Fox Soccer Plus live in the United States. However, there also is another option online. You can watch the game on Foxsoccer.tv live.This is a subscription based service that I would recommend.  

This game will be very diffcult for Fulham to come away with a victory. Fulham are coming off another draw from the game last Saturday at home against Everton. Fulham could have problems scoring goals with their injuries to their key strikers. It will probably be up to players like Zoltan Gera and Clint Dempsey to be the scoring threats tomorrow against West Ham.    

West Ham have started slow this season. They currently sit 19th in the table. However, they are coming off of an impressive 1-0 win against Tottenham Hotspur.  

Last season, Fulham beat West Ham 3-2 at Craven Cottage. The teams played to a 2-2 draw at Upton Park.

Avram Grant is the manager of West Ham. Players to watch include Scott Parker and Frederic Piquionne. Scott Parker is a very dangerous central midfielder. He has already scored 3 goals so far for West Ham in all competitions. Frederic Piquionne is a very accomplished striker. Fulham reportedly were very interested in this player over the summer. He scored the game winning goal for West Ham last week against Tottenham.

As I do before every match I do my 5 "keys" that I hope will lead to 3 points for Fulham. Below are " My 5 Keys To Victory For Fulham Against West Ham."

1. Fulham need to do a much better job defending set pieces. Until Fulham do a better job defending set pieces I will probably have this as one of my keys in every match. It is an extremely important key this week. West Ham have scored four goals this season from set pieces. Fulham need to defend very well on these plays or they could lose.

2. Fulham need to create scoring chances from set pieces.  With Fulham's issue lately on scoring goals, set pieces could be great opportunities to score a goal. I look for Brede Hangeland to be very important on these plays. Damien Duff could alslo be integral in creating scoring opportunities from set pieces.    

3. Fulham need to contain Frederic Piquionne. He is a striker that I think is very dangerous. He impressed me last season when he played for Portsmouth. It will be up to the central defenders to mark him very well. I look for Hangeland and Hughes to play big roles in this key.   

4. Carlos Salcido needs to be involved in scoring opportunities. Salcido has already shown me his offensive ability very early on in his career at Fulham. At left back, his crosses have been fantastic into the box. He also has a good shot as well. His play tomorrow could be critical in scoring goals.

5. Clint Dempsey needs to step up tomorrow and shoot whenever he has a chance. I think without Zamora and Dembele that Dempsey needs to be very involved in creating scoring chances. He likes to shoot, and I would recommend him shooting as much as possible against West Ham.

I am predicting a 1-0 victory for Fulham against West Ham at Upton Park. At some point, Fulham need to win on the road. It will be a tough game, but I am hoping Fulham come away with three points.