West Ham United V Wolverhampton Wanderers

West Ham United V Wolverhampton Wanderers

Tuesday, 23^rd March – 19:45 GMT

TV Coverage: Sky Sports 1

West Ham United

League Position: 17th

Recent Form: WLLLL

West Ham manager, Gianfranco Zola, has already come out and described this fixture with Wolves as a ‘six-pointer’ and we wouldn’t disagree. The Hammers find themselves just three points above the relegation zone, while Wolves sit right above them in the table with one point more. Victory at Upton Park would be enough to leapfrog their match day opponents, but defeat would prove costly as the pressure down near the bottom really begins to heat up.

Form is a key factor heading into these types of fixtures, the ones where you just have to win, and West Ham have none of that after falling to their fourth defeat in a row on Saturday. The Hammers suffered their tenth away defeat of the campaign when losing 2-0 at The Emirates in a game where not only did they have superior numbers but also spurned a penalty. Like that old adage goes ‘When you’re down the bottom, nothing seems to go your way’ and that was perhaps the case for West Ham, although, in truth West Ham didn’t deserve anything from a game they did very little in. 

The manner in which West Ham lost at Arsenal was a big concern as any other side would have seized the initiative when gaining a man advantage. Not West Ham though, they did little in terms of troubling Almunia in the Arsenal goal, with Carlton Cole’s 20 yard effort onto the woodwork the best they could conjure. Zola didn’t have any wise heads in the centre of the park that could take the game by the scruff of the neck and pile some pressure onto the ten men of Arsenal. Someone like Scott Parker would have sufficed but he was unavailable for the trip to The Emirates but will be available for selection ahead of this crucial Wolves encounter, which is a huge boost for Zola as West Ham looked so lightweight in midfield it was unreal.

While The Hammers are in a poor vein of form right now, their form at Upton Park of late has been half-decent, even if they were on the wrong end of a 2-1 scoreline in their last visit. Since the turn of the year, West Ham have picked up a total of 7 points from a possible 12 at Upton Park, with their 2-1 defeat to Bolton in their last home fixture their first defeat for seven games. That loss was a shame as West Ham were building up ahead of steam after back-to-back wins at home over Birmingham City and Hull City, but does that defeat to Bolton cast doubts over their ability to get themselves up for high-octane encounter such as this one?

Wolverhampton Wanderers

League Position: 16th

Recent Form: LLLWD 

Mick McCarthy has seen plenty this season to be proud of his troops, even if they do go down. However, their form recently has improved greatly after a two game spree without losing. What’s more, their 2-2 draw at Villa Park last Saturday will have given the entire Wolves camp a huge lift ahead of this huge relegation clash with a side sat right beside them in the league table, West Ham United. 

Wolves were nothing short of magnificent on Saturday at Villa Park against one of their local rivals, Aston Villa. There will have been few who gave Wolves much hope of attaining any of the spoils at a venue where even some of the mightiest have fallen, but Wolves put in a shift worthy of survival. If only they could do that every weekend. To their credit they have been. Some of Wolves’ displays this season have been awe-inspiring from a club we thought had no chance of staying up this season. They create plenty of chances, their work rate is second to none while their team spirit is up there with the very best. 

The problem for Wolves has been converting chances, and holding their nerve in those crucial periods. They actually did the former well on Saturday. Scoring twice at Villa Park is no mean feat, with not even Chelsea, Man Utd or Liverpool managing that this season. However, it was the former that let them down this time as they failed to hang onto their one goal advantage as John Carew prodded home a Villa equaliser with just minutes left on the clock. The Norwegians goal was debatable, but even so, Wolves weren’t ship tight at the back, which was a crying shame as Villa weren’t exactly piling the pressure on. 

Defending has been an area for concern for Mick McCarthy this season, and it could be their downfall come the end of the season. We have no qualms with their forward play, although they don’t convert anywhere near as many chances as they should, but their defending needs to be sharper if they are to survive. In 15 away games, Wolves have conceded 29 goals. They’re shipping nearly 2 goals a game and haven’t kept a clean sheet since their sublime 1-0 win at Tottenham back in December, meaning Wolves haven’t kept a clean sheet in any of their last seven away outings.

What this all means is Wolves will probably need to score twice just to stand any chance of winning this game, which, considering they have major problems converting chances, looks a big ask. Then again, Wolves have scored exactly two goals in both of their previous two away encounters, scoring twice in a 2-1 win at Burnley and two in the 2-2 draw with Aston Villa, so Wolves are capable of hitting that elusive two goal marker, but surely they can’t make it a hat-trick of 2 goals scored?

Match Verdict: West Ham United to WIN – 1.83 SkyBet

West Ham’s form is dire while Wolves’ is impressive, yet it’s The Hammers who get our vote. Why, I hear you ask? Upton Park! We know West Ham lost their previous six-pointer clash with Bolton but that was a miserable display from Zola’s men that day, what we hope was a blip as some of their earlier efforts at home were promising, with West Ham on a two match winning role before the defeat. Their forward line has been bolstered, even if some aren’t available for action, while the return of Scott Parker to the midfield makes West Ham a whole new proposition as now they have a natural born leader, someone who can take the game by the scruff of the neck and drive his team towards the finish line. His presence will prove the difference we hope, while Carlton Cole‘s finishing should hopefully claims all the plaudits.

We wouldn’t completely discourage anyone from having a punt on Wolves. After all, they are unbeaten in their last two away ventures. Moreover, their 2-2 draw with Aston Villa on Saturday will have given the players bags of confidence that no game is beyond them, especially one such as this against a West Ham side far inferior than that of their last opponent.

Match Odds:

West Ham United – 1.83 Skybet

Draw – 3.60 Bet365

Wolverhampton Wanderers – 5.10 Expekt

SoccerBetting Value Tip: Carlton Cole FGS – 6.00 StanJames

West Ham United V Wolverhampton Wanderers

Sunday, 10^th January – 15:00 GMT (Sky Sports 1)

West Ham United

League Position: 17th

Recent Form: LLDWL 

Ther Hammers don’t have too long to digest their FA Cup exit as they welcome Mick McCarthy’s Wolves to Upton Park in what appears to be an early six-pointer between two sides destined to be there or thereabouts come May. West Ham fans will believe that they have far more talent on show than their opponents, but will this equate into a winning formula?

Ginafranco Zola was in an optmistic mood at the beginning of the week and claimed there were plenty of positives to take away from their 2-1 defeat to Arsenal. We, however, felt it wasn’t the best performance we’ve seen from West Ham this season, far from it, but there were glimpses that particular areas are improving, more notably in defence. To concede just the two goals, late ones at that, against the country’s most prolific goalscorers takes some doing, although it must be said that Arsenal were without a whole host of attacking players; Fabregas, Van Persie & Arshavin to name but a few.

It’s good to see the West Ham defence rallying around as that is where West Ham have been at their weakest this season, but to concede two goals still shows signs that big improvements are needed, and to concede them both late on clearly shows that West Ham have a distinct lack of concentration at the back. They were, though, a lot brighter on the front foot as they were getting forward with ease, with some slick interchanging allowing them to carve through what should have been a tight and compact Arsenal defence.

However, although they came across no problems getting forward, West Ham’s final play in the final third was abysmal and how they managed to find the goal once was beyond me. They posses players that can take on a defender, Diamanti & Jimenez for example, but both lose their marbles when they enter the opposing penalty area. They weren’t the only culprits, though, and their shy display in front of goal is a big concern as West Ham look lost up front without their star man, Carlton Cole, driving them forward, although the England centre-forward could make his return to the fold against Wolves this Saturday.

If Carlton Cole does play, which we can’t honestly see happening, then West Ham will be a good bet. He provides them with a more reliable outlet. He is a player which can amply hold up the ball but can also finish, which is more than can be said for their remaining strikers. West Ham did manage a victory in their last home outing, though, in a 2-0 victory over Portsmouth so perhaps, considering they are facing another poor opponent, the home factor will get them through another big fixture.

Wolverhampton Wanderers

League Position: 15th

Recent Form: WLWLL

Wolves were another Premiership side who scraped through their opening FA Cup fixture, beating League One outfit, Tranmere Rovers, by a single goal; 1-0. However, the result is all that matters and Mick McCarthy will be hoping the squad can push on now and hit the new year running with a couple of victories as their two upcoming fixtures are certainly winnable. However, Wolves have been pretty shabby on the road this season so perhaps a draw would be just as good as a win at Upton Park, despite West Ham being worse off than them in the table.  

Wolves put themselves in the hat for the fourth round and their victory over Tranmere should be a welcome boost of confidence that the players clearly needed after a tough festive period of fixtures. Mick McCarthy’s side didn’t manage a single point in their two games either side of Christmas, excruciating fixtures at that against Liverpool (2-0) & then Man City (0-3). However, with Wolves faltering over Christmas, the pressure is now on them to register some quick fire points in the new year starting with a very winnable fixture with West Ham. On paper anyway.

If this was at Molineux, with a capacity crowd cheering them on, then perhaps we would pluck up some courage and back Wolves for what would be the first time this season. However, that isn’t the case and Wolves have been a terrible away outfit this season, with the exception of their shock victory at White Hart Lane over Tottenham. Their away record this season stands at 2-2-6, but they’ve lost back-to-back away games since their sublime result over Spurs and have failed to score in three of their last four away outings. On the road, they lack that attacking edge while their defence has left gaping gaps – a recipe for disaster.

Wolves won’t, though, have too many better opportunities this season to win an away fixture than this, and Mick McCarthy will undoubtedly be drumming this fact into the players during the course of the week. Still, even with that said, we can’t see Wolves overhauling West Ham at Upton Park as they’ve generally been a very poor away outfit. At home they have this aurora about them where they storm straight out of the blocks and put their opponents immediately under pressure. They struggle to do this away from home, while their defence has often capitulated when times have got hard and with this we couldn’t touch Wolves even if those tight-fisted Irish bookies paid us to.

Match Verdict: West Ham United to WIN – 1.83 BetFred

We really fancy West Ham’s chances at the weekend as, quite frankly, they won’t have an easier opportunity to notch up three points than a meeting with Wolves at Upton Park. The same will probably be said in the Wolves dressing room but the roar of a home support should ensure that Zola gets the very best out of his players this Sunday. Wolves will be dangerous on the break, but West Ham should dominate in the chances created department, it’s just a case of whether their out-of-confidence forwards can take their chances when they come their way.

Match Odds:

West Ham United – 1.83 BetFred

Draw – 3.50 Bet365

Wolverhampton Wanderers – 4.80 Boylesports

SoccerBetting Value Tip: West Ham to score EXACTLY 3 goals – 11/2 SkyBet