West Brom vs Fulham Preview - What the Managers say?
West Brom takes on Fulham this weekend in the English Premier League. Both teams had contrasting fortunes in the weekend gone by. West Brom managed to get back from 2 nil down to get on level terms and ended the match against Manchester United with a point.
Whereas, Fulham lost a one nil lead against fellow Londoners Tottenham and ended up losing the match 2-1.
West Brom's manager, Roberto Di Matteo wants his team to carry on the same form, and make most of the purple patch that they have hit. Not to forget the weekend before that when West Brom beat Arsenal 3-2 and in that match at one point, they were leading
3-0. Currently, Baggies are in 6th place in the table, and with 8 games gone by, one could have predicted this outcome.
West Brom boss though is being realistic and said that still Fulham can prove to be a tough ask, even after good results against Arsenal and United. He gave the example of a farmer who wants to make sure that he brings in as much hay as he can when the weather
is good for the crops. Di Matteo went on to say that it is great to be in this position but one has to be realistic and he knows that things are going to get tougher later on, so he wants to make sure that his team can secure as much points as they can to
assure another season in top flight.
West Brom manager added that if his team continues to show the same enthusiasm, it does not matter who they face. He believes that big teams like Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea kill smaller oppositions by their fear even before the match starts.
In reality, it is 11 versus 11 and whosoever does better for 90 minutes would eventually win, and that is how simple he says he has made it for his team.
Di Matteo claimed that his team is one of the favourites to go down this season and he isn't surprised by that. Still, he added that the bubble may burst but till it does not, one has to make sure it keeps on getting bigger and bigger.
One good piece of news for the manager is that his influential winger, Jerome Thomas has been declared fit for the match and he may be starting. However, there is this concern that their major goal scorer Peter Odemwingie would not be able to shake off the
calf problem and he may be a late decision.
On the other hand, Mark Hughes, the Fulham manager has been delighted by the return of one of Premier League’s seasoned goal scorers, Andy Johnson, who had been out for a while now and Hughes has said that it is almost like having a brand new signing. The
former Everton striker has been hampered by multiple injuries over last few months, which include a combination of shoulder, knee and hip problems.
Johnson, who has also represented England, was given a test run in an exhibition match against Southampton in midweek. The manager says that he liked what he saw then and is confident that Johnson would be able to start again.
Hughes said, "Andy should be OK. He came through 90 minutes and we're pleased with that. It was a good challenge that he needed to clear his mind. He's available for selection. We'll look at the option of starting Andy but it would be more advisable to introduce
him slowly and see how he goes."
Considering that the match is at Hawthorns, the home side West Brom may be termed as the favourite as Fulham have not been able to win an away game since the opening game of last season. This means that they are yet to win away in 22 games, statistics that
are staggering considering that Fulham had an exceptional season last term.
This season, although they haven't lost any away games, but still have managed to come home with only 4 points from 4 away games. Mark Hughes though remains optimistic for a win this time around.
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