Premier League: Potter’s Return Heads East to West Ham

West Ham United vs Fulham

Former Chelsea manager Graham Potter is back in the Premier League and he has switched West London for the East End as manager of West Ham United.

His first task is a tough game against Chelsea’s closer neighbours Fulham and his opposite number Marco Silva, another progressive manager, has the Cottagers playing attractive football and with plenty of success. Fulham are up in ninth position in the league table, five places and seven points above West Ham and a win on Tuesday would nudge them closer to the European places, while the Hammers can climb two places dependant on results elsewhere.       

Potters new men come into this game having made an early exit from the FA Cup, losing 2-1 to Aston Villa, while Silva watched his team dispatch Championship side Watford 4-1.          

 

Talking Points

Can Potter spark the Hammers into life?  

Following the sacking of Julen Lopetegui there was speculation in the Premier League 2025 news world that West Ham may be considering bringing former boss David Moyes to the club after he had been discarded just eight months ago. The experienced Scot had delivered the first piece of silverware to West Ham in almost half a century when they won the 2023 Europa Conference League, beating Fiorentina in the final. Moyes brought European football to the club three seasons in succession for the first time in the Hammers’ history but the club owners declined to offer him a new contract last May. Maybe they were listening to a section of fans who seem obsessed by football ‘The West Ham’ way; but the Lopetegui way seemed to be not to win! Now West Ham have appointed a manager far away from the pragmatism of Moyes, and one of the newer breed of managers who demand possession based passing football.

Potter impressed at Swansea in 2019 and again at Brighton where he managed the Seagulls to Premier League stability, before leaving for Chelsea in 2022 and crashing and burning at Stamford Bridge. Since then he has been out of work and the 49 year old will return to the cauldron of top flight football, and the SBOTOP Premier League team reckon he has a difficult task on his hands against the Cottagers, with the West Ham United vs Fulham betting odds nudging towards an away win. 

West Ham, who finished ninth last term under Moyes, are probably shooting below their weight with 23 points from 20 games and players of the calibre of captain Jarrod Bowen, Tomas Soucek and Lucas Paqueta in their ranks; but they have endured a difficult run of fixtures. A home match against a ruthless Liverpool was about as tough as it gets but the Hammers were destroyed 5-0, before being thrashed 4-1 by Manchester City, who have been on a shocking run. The FA Cup exit to Aston Villa was not entirely unexpected either but losing is a habit, and breaking that habit is Potters’ first job.   

 

Draws have slowed Fulham’s progress  

When the Cottagers had theirNew Year meeting with Ipswich Town there was a sense of expectation around the club that they could break their own awkward habit of failing to turn draws into wins. But Fulham were caught out by the Tractor Boys and needed a brace from Raul Jimenez to escape with a point. The Mexican striker is now on eight goals from 20 games and he was on target again as Fulham whacked Watford in the FA Cup, with Rodrigo Muniz, Timothy Castagne and Joachim Anderson also on target.

That level of clinical finishing should bring Silva more wins, but with draws in the league against Bournemouth, Southampton and Liverpool, punctuated only by a 2-1 victory away to Chelsea, recent progress has been steady rather than dynamic. But they are on a run of nine unbeaten games which also includes draws with Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur and a comfortable win over Brighton and Hove Albion.

This is a team on form, about to face a club in its latest period of uncertainty.     

 

History

While West Ham United have won 18 of the last 34 meetings to Fulham’s seven, they have failed to win any of the last three as the Cottagers did the double last season, winning 5-0 at Craven Cottage and 2-0 at the London Stadium. When the two teams met in West London earlier this season they played out a 1-1 draw as Jimenez gave Fulham an early lead only for Danny Ings to score an equaliser deep into injury time.

With two wins and four draws Fulham are in very solid form while the Hammers have won one, drawn two and lost three of their last six, and crucially the three defeats are the most recent results.

 

Betting Tip

At odds of 2.70 Potter would immediately make friends in East London if West Ham can start with a win for their new regime. The Cottagers are favourites at odds of 2.21 while the Draw is 3.24 and, while there may be a ‘new manager bounce’, I can’t see such a rapid change in form in either camp.    

   

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