Sunderland Vs West Ham United Betting – Saturday 31st October

Sunderland V West Ham United

Kick-off: Saturday 31st October – 15:00 GMT

Venue: The Stadium of Light

Sunderland

League Position: 8th

Recent Form: LWDWL

It’s been a very disappointing week for Sunderland fans as not only were they beaten at the weekend in the league but they were also sent crashing out of the Carling Cup at the expense of Aston Villa. To be honest, Sunderland fans won’t care too much about their Carling Cup exit but their defeat on Saturday by Birmingham City ended a run of three games without defeat. Now Sunderland must find their feet once again but, more importantly, seek out some form as Steve Bruce has criticised his team once again for their inconsistent nature.  

All in all Sunderland have made an impressive start to the campaign when you consider that they were lucky to avoid relegation last season. Steve Bruce has already guided the club into top ten of the league, notching up a healthy 16 points already. However, for the first time in donkeys years, Sunderland are a team with potential and their performance last Saturday was well below the standard we have come to enjoy from Sunderland this season. We would love to put it down to a rare blip but that wouldn’t be true.

The Black cats have a terrible issue regarding consistency and you’ll often find Sunderland undoing their winning efforts the following week by succumbing to defeat against the lesser teams in the league. Four times now Sunderland have gone on to record a bitter defeat after winning their previous league fixture so perhaps Steve Bruce is struggling with complacency at the club and that his ranks get over confident after winning games. That was probably the case this time around as their previous game was a hard earned win over Liverpool, we think any side would be confident after that, but it’s canning it.

Although Sunderland do have concerns of their form, they do react well to defeat. Sunderland may have lost four times already this season but three of those were followed by a win the very next week or fixture. If this pattern is to remain then Sunderland have to beat West Ham at the Stadium of Light, a venue where Sunderland have been pretty prolific at this season winning four and losing just the one, that defeat coming against the league leaders, Chelsea.

West Ham United

League Position: 19th

Recent Form: LLDLD 

West Ham will travel up North to face Sunderland buoyed by their most recent result against Arsenal. However, although the 1-1 draw is a very creditable result and one that was well earned, the single point hasn’t lifted West Ham away from the pit of the table and it certainly didn’t stop the rut. It’s now been nine games since West Ham last won in the league, that coming right back on the opening day of the season, and if the players don’t get this win soon not only will they see the win drought extend but also a severe drop in player morale.

We’ve been admirer of the work Gianfranco Zola and Steve Clarke have done at the club since the arrival a little over a year ago but this is by far their toughest period at the club. However, they did extremely well to steer the club away from the slumber they were in last season and into European contention so we feel the pair have what it takes to guide West Ham out of the pit they are in. Our only concern is that a run of this magnitude can seriously affect the mood within the dressing room and a trip to an inform Sunderland isn’t ideal.

West Ham’s away form may look drastic, losing on their previous three away outings, but their only success this season did come on their travels when they beat Wolves at Molineux, 2-0. Of course, that was against a Wolves side also struggling for form and also near West Ham’s proximity but it does prove that West Ham can pull a big performance out of the hat when on the road and, at very bid odds, they could be worth a small punt to produce another magic act on Saturday. The draw at home to Arsenal will have certainly given the players a welcomed lift in confidence while they actually have a proven and confident goalscoring striker in Carlton Cole.

There is no getting away from West Ham’s league position nor their form but it’s not as if they have been playing dreadful football. They did hold Blackburn to a goalless draw near the beginning of the season while they did also restrict Wigan Athletic to just the one goal in a 1-0 defeat at The DW. If Zola can get West Ham’s back in shape and formation then maybe the Hammers could be celebrating their first back-to-back points this season, albeit probably coming in the form of a low scoring draw. However, if Carlton Cole is on form on Saturday then West Ham could sneak a narrow victory.

Head-to-Head (Last 10):

Sunderland W: 3 West Ham United W: 6 Draws: 1

Although the pair haven’t been an established team in the Premiership they have stuck to one another for some time now. They were promoted in the same season back in 2005 so four of the ten games abovewere Championship meetings. As far as games in the Premiership goes, Sunderland boast a terrible record of just one victory over West Ham, while the Hammers can boast four wins over the Black Cats. West Ham won at The Stadium Light last season in a narrow 1-0 victory but with Sunderland’s renewed fire-power, it hards to envisage them not scoring at least once at home in the fourth successive Premiership meeting between the two on Tyneside.

Match Verdict:- Sunderland to WIN – 2.00 Bet365

The Black Cats should notch up yet another set of three points as they continue their surge up the table. They will be eager to make amends for their weekend disappointment and West Ham provide a glorious opportunity for them to make an instant recovery. West Ham will miss their most influential player in club captain, Scott Parker, through suspension. The Hammers now lack a quality leader and, of course, don’t boast any great form. They are without a win since the start of the season while Sunderland have been strutting their stuff this season. Darren Bent will lead the Sunderland front line and he’;ll be hoping to spearhead his side to another set of three points, points that would keep them in the top ten.

Match Odds:

Sunderland – 2.00 Bet365

Draw – 3.5 SkyBet

West Ham United – 4.3 BetFred

SoccerBetting Value Tip: Over 2.5 Goals – 1.91 StanJames

 Update: The result of Sunderland vs West Ham was 2-2 (goals by Reid, Richardson for Sunderland and Franco, Cole for West Ham)