West Ham welcome 'favourite' opponents Fulham (but prefer them away)
By Brian Sears
31 August 2012
West Ham, bolstered by their £1m loan man Andy Carroll, will welcome Fulham to Upton Park this weekend in the knowledge that they've won more Premier League points per game against Fulham than against any other current PL club.
In their eight seasons (and 16 games) playing each other in the revamped top division, West Ham have won 32 points, or two per game on average from those meetings.
That would be a title-contending level of points if achieved from all games, and bag a Champions League spot at least.
But it's not all that it seems.
West Ham don't fare nearly as well against most other opponents (see table below for details).
And actually they do better against Fulham away from home than on their own turf (see table for details).
West Ham have gained 19 of their 32 points at Craven Cottage and just 13 at Upton Park. They have won six times at Fulham in eight visits. At Upton Park there have been four draws in the eight games.
Another reason for Hammers' caution this weekend is that Fulham had their most successful Premier League season in 2011-12 when it came to London derbies. Only Tottenham beat them twice but Fulham did their own double over QPR, beat and drew with Arsenal, and drew at home and away with Chelsea.
The last time the clubs met in league football was on Boxing Day 2010, when West Ham won 3-1 at Craven Cottage.
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