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Let’s get excited for West Ham United’s preseason match against Fulham

By Jeremiah Carson

LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 22: The players shake hands following the final whistle during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Fulham FC at the London Stadium on February 22, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 22: The players shake hands following the final whistle during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Fulham FC at the London Stadium on February 22, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) /
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The storylines for today’s preseason match for West Ham against Fulham are ginormous in comparison to most other preseason matches to date as the Hammers paddle up the Thames to face the Cottagers.

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Depending on what type of fan you are will depend on how you take your preseason football. Some fans like myself love it and enjoy seeing the new West Ham kits and players take the pitch while others, just wish it were Matchday 1.

Today’s match against Fulham has a few things that should bring the first crack of excitement to West Ham fan’s eyes if China wasn’t enough already. The Hammers will play their 4th preseason match against solid competition at Scott Parker’s side was relegated last season but should still show some challenges for Pellegrini.

This will be the closest of all preseason matches so far which should mean that the Claret and Blue Army will be in full force. They’ll have something extra to cheer about too, as some new faces are rumored to be making appearances.

Not only will we get to see first-teamers like Balbuena and Masuaku back and ready from the International break but Hammers fans will get their first glimpses of Sebastien Haller and Pablo Fornals in claret and blue.

As per the norm, I fully expect Pellegrini to use a lot of players as he is still figuring out who is going to make the squad come opening day, so don’t expect to see those 4 play all 90 minutes after just a few practice sessions.

I would, however, expect to seem them feature and play some solid minutes. The Hammers took care of Fulham in both matches last season but I expect that Pellegrini won’t be taking them lightly, especially with the before mentioned new faces showing up at Rush Green.

To round out the post, allow me to break out the crystal ball and predict who the starting 11 will be today: in between the pipes will be Fabianski and just in front of him, we will see a familiar sight of Fredericks, Diop, Balbuena, and Masuaku.

Next. Does the Academy of Football have an academy issue?. dark

Then we will see an aggressive midfield 5 of Rice in the back and Antonio, Fornals, Lanzini, and Anderson pushing forward. This, of course, will all be rounded out by our new forward Haller alone at the top. Make sure to find a way to watch, listen, or go to the match this afternoon and COME ON YOUR IRONS!