The euphoria of Fulham’s fantastic five-goal thrashing of Nottingham Forest might have subsided somewhat but the memories of Marco Silva’s side playing some swashbuckling football remain. The Whites have looked weak and predictable in the final third for a much of a season that had barely began when Aleksandar Mitrovic skulked off to Saudi Arabia and Raul Jimenez looked as though he had the weight of the world on his shoulders until Wednesday night. Silva’s gameplan has had to evolve, but it surely can’t be a coincidence that having Tom Cairney, Andreas Pereira, Willian and Alex Iwobi all in the same side contributed to the Mexican finishing chances with aplomb.

There does not be to a degree of caution attached to the reaction to one result in isolation: Forest were woeful and, although Cairney capped the evening with a lovely finish, the final goal underlined how easy that romp was for the Whites. Wednesday was the first time that Fulham had scored three goals in successive top-flight matches since 1966, when a 5-2 win at Aston Villa was followed on successive Saturdays by a 3-0 home win over Sunderland and a 3-1 triumph at Upton Park against West Ham United as Vic Buckingham masterminded an escape from relegation that even Roy Hodgson would marvel at. Silva has spoken about the need for his side to find the consistency to knit together results that helped them climb the table – and this afternoon offers the opportunity to do so against the Hammers.

David Moyes’ men will come to the Cottage on a high having staged a stunning comeback to be the latest side to puncture Tottenham’s terrific start. West Ham have won five of their last six fixtures in all competitions, collecting ten points from their last four league games, with James Ward-Prowse’s winner at Spurs a fitting reward for their increased aggression and intensity after the interval. Moyes, who hasn’t lost in his last thirteen games against Fulham, hailed the versatility of England winger Jarrod Bowen, who operated effectively as a false nine on Thursday night, as well as heaping praise on the experienced Lukasz Fabianski after the goalkeeper deputised well for Alphonse Areola, who may miss a potential return to the Cottage following his fine 2020/2021 loan spell through injury.

Moyes’ side have the pedigree to play to a couple of different game plans. They are comfortable in possession, but work exceptionally hard without the ball and are dangerous on the counter as Silva identified in his pre-match press conference on Friday. Ward-Prowse, as well as being a master technician in midfield, is a sound decision-maker who – to my mind – has a mystifyingly low number of senior international caps. In recent weeks, Mo Kudus has showed what he can bring to the Hammers side whilst Bowen, a regular scourge of Fulham from his Hull days, has now scored in each of his last seven away league outings.

The London derby will come too soon for Issa Diop to face his former start and Silva’s biggest selection dilemma is whether to tweak anything at all after sweeping past Forest so spectacularly. Calvin Bassey and Tosin Adarabioyo looked every inch a future top flight central defensive pairing but they will surely face a sterner test against the streetwise Hammers. The Palhinha-Cairney axis delivered delicious distribution of the ball, but will a more combative side be required against Moyes’ men? Does Harry Wilson, who made a goal within ten minutes of getting off the bench in midweek, deserve a more prominent role in the side? The pleasing thing is that Silva seems to have a few more options with first-team players available again after injury, but the Portuguese head coach – whom Moyes credited with transforming Fulham into ‘a strong Premier League team’ on Friday – will be relentless in his quest for improvement.

MY FULHAM XI (4-2-3-1): Leno; Tete, A. Robinson, Adarabioyo, Bassey; Palhina, Reed; Iwobi, Willian, Pereira; Jimenez. Subs: Rodak, Castagne, Ballo-Toure, Ream, Lukic, Cairney, De Cordova-Reid, Wilson, Vinicius.