A second London derby of the season is on the agenda for West Ham United as they make the short trip west to face Fulham on Saturday.
The Hammers put in a spirited display against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City prior to the international break, but fell just short at London Stadium. Rúben Dias’ own goal cancelled out Erling Haaland’s early opener for the visitors, only for the Norwegian to add a further two goals and complete his hat-trick and victory for the reigning Premier League champions.
West Ham lost 0-7 on aggregate in their meetings with Marco Silva’s Fulham side last season, including a 5-0 humbling at Craven Cottage in December, but now, under the tutelage of Julen Lopetegui, the Irons will be looking to rewrite the recent history books as they seek a return to winning ways at the start of an important run of fixtures.
Both sides will be full of individuals looking to provide the touch of magic required to make the difference on the day, meaning there are a number of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) decisions to be made in the lead up to kick-off.
The Gameweek Four transfer deadline is set for 11am on Saturday 14 September ahead of a mouth-watering feast of weekend action that begins two-and-a-half hours before West Ham’s clash at Craven Cottage.
While we will be giving you FPL tips and tricks throughout the remainder of the 2024/25 season on whufc.com, see below for some of our picks for the upcoming round.
Also, don't forget to join the Official West Ham United FPL League by entering the code tezfax...
Kudus to get off the mark!
Mohammed Kudus (£6.4m) may not have managed to find the net so far this season, but he has certainly been threatening a first goal of the campaign.
The Ghanaian was praised for his performances while on international duty earlier this week, assisting full-back Alidu Seidu for his country’s opener during their 1-1 draw with Niger.
The 24-year-old is certainly a player to think about regarding FPL, considering his current low-ish price, despite having only scored seven points so far this season.
Kudus, who is a constant threat, delivered eight Premier League goals last season, provided six assists and racked up 137 points in his debut campaign for the Hammers, without forgetting our No14 didn’t make his first start of 2023/24 until Gameweek Ten!
Elsewhere, Carlos Soler (£5.0m) could potentially make his West Ham debut this weekend. The Spain international midfielder joined the Hammers on loan for the 2024/25 campaign on deadline day, moving to London Stadium from French champions Paris Saint-Germain.
A cheaper alternative is Maximilian Kilman (£4.5m), who will no doubt be full of confidence after an impeccable start to life in Claret and Blue.
The defender's exploits in our first win of the season at Selhurst Park earned him a 12-point FPL haul, adding to the other points accumulated against Aston Villa and Manchester City.
Opposition watch: Fulham
Emile Smith Rowe (£5.6m) has turned the heads of many FPL managers after an impressive start to his career at Fulham.
Injuries and form prevented the Arsenal academy graduate from becoming a regular under Mikel Arteta in north London, but Fulham shelled out a club-record fee for the 24-year-old this summer, and he’s already beginning to recapture the form that saw him notch up ten goals and two assists for the Gunners during 2021/22.
The forward opened the scoring for Fulham in Gameweek Two as they earned a hard-fought win over Leicester City.
Rodrigo Muniz (£6.1m) was the talk of Fantasy Premier League managers during a purple patch in the midst of last season. The Brazilian seized his first-team opportunity after replacing Raúl Jiménez up front, starting all of Fulham’s 15 matches over Gameweeks 23-37, scoring nine goals and providing two assists.
He hasn't continued that form so far this campaign, but underlying numbers are not his problem. He had seven shots at goal against Leicester City on Gameweek Two, so many would expect the 23-year-old to be back amongst the goals sooner rather than later.
