West Ham vs Fulham Betting Tips & Preview

Fulham to win

Fulham are the pick to win this Carabao Cup third round tie at the London Stadium, and it's a call built on where both sides sit right now rather than any bookmaker quirk. West Ham head into this one on a strong run, but a lot of that form has come against lower-division opposition, while Fulham have been mixing it with the top end of the Premier League and drawing with Liverpool just three days before this fixture. Our model puts Fulham's chances at 40.8%, comfortably the highest of the three possible outcomes, and that's the basis for the selection. The best price we've found is 2.20 with a site-listed bookmaker, which is there for context rather than the reason behind the tip.

Recent Form

West Ham's last five completed fixtures make for tidy reading on paper: a draw away at Watford, then four straight wins against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Derby County, Bolton Wanderers and Wrexham. That's a run that will have restored some confidence around the club, though it's worth noting the calibre of opposition dips outside of the Wolves result, with Derby, Bolton and Wrexham all coming from lower down the football pyramid.

Fulham's form looks rockier on the surface but tells a different story underneath. They lost to Chelsea, beat AFC Wimbledon, then suffered back-to-back defeats to Sunderland and Crystal Palace before drawing at Anfield against Liverpool in their most recent outing. Four defeats and a draw against genuinely tough opposition, including a point away to Liverpool, suggests a side that's been competitive even when the results haven't gone their way.

Head-to-Head

The head-to-head record between these two sides is about as even as it gets. Across the last five meetings, West Ham hold a slender edge with two wins to Fulham's two, plus one draw. West Ham won the most recent meeting in March 2026 at Craven Cottage, but Fulham responded well in the corresponding home fixture in December 2025. Go back further and there's a win apiece plus a draw in September 2024, underlining just how little separates these two clubs historically. There's no real pattern here to lean on beyond the fact that games between them tend to be tight and hard to call.

Team News

West Ham are without two players of note. Lukasz Fabianski continues to be sidelined with a back injury that has kept him out since September 2025, while Tomáš Souček remains unavailable through an ankle injury dating back to late June 2026. Both are experienced figures who would ordinarily be considered key men, so their continued absence is a factor worth weighing up.

Fulham's situation is more contained, with Tom Cairney the only player listed as sidelined, out since early August 2026 following knee surgery. With no other absences reported for Fulham, they appear to have the fuller squad to choose from heading into this fixture.