Upton Park
20/02/10
16:00
Preview!
West Ham United entertain Hull City this weekend and Gianfranco Zola will be hoping that his side can continue the momentum established during the win over Birmingham City some ten days ago. Another three points could put daylight between us and the relegation pack especially when you consider there are not one; not two, but three extremely difficult away fixtures looming on the horizon.
This fixture has the fear of relegation written all over it and neither club are able to cast off its shadow with both clubs are perfectly aware that a plunge into the Championship would cause financial nightmares. On the eve of the game though Phil Brown believes his side have the edge when it comes to such battles, remarking,
"The experience we have from last year stands us in good stead."
West Ham Team News:
Gianfranco Zola injury woes are starting to decrease, he may well still have Luis Boa Morte, Zavn Hines, Herita Ilunga, Callum Davenport and Dany Gabbidon all out injured and recent signing Benni McCarthy rated as doubtful but Guillermo Franco and Kieron Dyer are both considered as fit for consideration. However, we doubt whether Zola will err too far away from the eleven that started against Birmingham with Mido partnering Carlton Cole up front.
Player to watch: Mido
This will be his third West Ham appearance and so far he`s more than justified his much-publicised wage of £1000 a week. Let`s hope he gets off the mark, scoring wise, against a side that doesn`t have the best defensive record around.
Hull Team News:
Phil Brown brings his Hull side to East London without the injured Ashbee, Geovanni, Ghilas and Marney. Jimmy Bullard is close to a comeback after suffering another knee injury but will Phil Brown risk him, we think not.
The declared Hull squad is:-
Myhill, Gardner, McShane, Dawson, Mouyokolo, Boateng, Mendy, Hunt, Cairney, Altodore, Olofinjana, Venegoor of Hesselink, Garcia, Zaki, Zayatte, Fagan, Barmby, Duke, Kilbane and Bullard.
Player to watch: Cairney
This teenager is said to have a golden future having recently broken into the Hull first team, it`ll be interesting to see how he fares in a fixture where much of our midfield will be made up of young, homegrown, talent.
Match Facts & Stats
Hull don`t have a particularly good record at Upton Park having only won once in their last eleven visits and that came back in 1990 when the two sides met in the old Division Two.
Recently, Hull have gone on a long run, away from home without a win in their last 18 games failing to score in 7 of the last 9!
The most recent fixture between the two sides saw a six goal thriller with West Ham racing into a two goal lead with goals from Franco and Collison before having to plunder a late equaliser when Da Costa made it 3-3 with twenty-odd minutes to go.
Ref Watch:
Martin Atkinson is the man in charge backed up by his two assistants, Darren Cann and Robert Madley.
Match Prediction:
With Premier League games away to Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal coming up, interspersed with a visit from Bolton, some would say it is absolutely imperative that West Ham get a win out of this. A failure to do so would land us right back into the relegation zone. But, after the win over Birmingham, a win that seems an eternity ago, I`m taking Gianfranco`s side to win two on the bounce, a rarity this season, 2-1 to West Ham with Carlton Cole getting the winner
Next Fixtures:
Our next Premier League fixture is away to Manchester United, a cinch we`d say, three points guaranteed!
HA FATTO LA BATTUTA HA FATTO!!! 
), il mercato si e' orientato sui reds permettendo il gran balzo alla quota.
