Happy Fab ready for fans boost

There’s no question that Lukasz Fabianski has been right back to his best this season.

In fact there is no keeper in the Premier League better on home turf where he has conceded just four goals at Premier League level.

Like the rest of the squad he is playing at the peak of his powers and was responsible for a point against Manchester City with two or three late great saves.

Now it’s Manchester United and hopefully a 90 minutes when he won’t be unduly busy as we look to make it four wins on the trot.

He’s been a top buy and it was probably as much down to his absence through injury that we found ourselves involved in a really nasty relegation battle – let’s not mention Roberto.

Fab now has his eyes fixed on Saturday evening and the return of the fans, few though they are, to the London Stadium.

Told about his outstanding stat, he said: “I didn’t know about that stat but it’s something positive so far from the season.

“We wanted to work to improve our defensive record after the recent seasons that were not good enough. I think we have worked a lot better as a defensive unit so far this season, so hopefully it will continue.

“We are fifth but it’s early, just ten games into the season, and you can see there are many teams actually up there. It’s good to be up there, but there is still a long way to go, we need to keep working hard and keep making sure that we put in good performances week in and week out and see where we’re going to end up at the end of it.”

Saturday’s teatime kick-off will not only present the Hammers with a chance to close the gap on the leaders to a single point, but it will also mark the return of supporters to Premier League football after a nine-month absence caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fabiański is looking forward to having the support of 2,000 fans inside London Stadium, where West Ham are going for a third straight home Premier League win over the Red Devils.

“I think that would be amazing and I am really looking forward to that,” the No1 smiled. “I think everyone has been looking forward to that and it will be great to see fans coming back to the games.

“Hopefully the situation will keep improving and we will see more of them, so I’m very happy and our fans are very happy as well, so it should be a good afternoon when we’re going to play against a really good team, so that’s something special. Hopefully everything will go well.”

Saturday’s 5.30pm kick-off will be screened live in the UK by Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Ultra HD, and around the world by the Premier League’s international broadcast partners.