West Ham United v Fulham: Hope, Rotation and Mild Disappointment

 

There is an art to approaching a Tuesday night in the League Cup with a sense of balance. It occupies that curious little footballing space where hopes and dreams clash with squad rotation, and the absence of anything resembling genuine jeopardy is probably the healthiest way to preserve my sanity.

Nuno’s pragmatic nature means he will almost certainly shuffle the pack. We’ll definitely get a changed side, but hopefully one still capable of putting up a fight, with the manager and me quietly hoping we can sneak a result without accidentally injuring anyone we need at the weekend.

Fulham, meanwhile, under Álvaro Arbeloa’s new set-up, will presumably have similar ideas, leaving us with two changed line-ups under the floodlights, each containing enough unfamiliar faces to spend the first half wondering who exactly is supposed to be marking whom.

If we somehow keep things tight beyond the hour mark, the romantic in me will inevitably start dreaming. An absurd 89th-minute winner. A scrappy goal off someone’s backside. The glorious lottery of a penalty shootout. I know how this works.

The realist, meanwhile, has seen enough Tuesday night League Cup football to know where this is heading. I expect us to be reasonably competent, keep Fulham uncomfortably close for long stretches, briefly convince ourselves that we might actually do this, and then lose to a late goal that will annoy me far more than it probably deserves.