English FA CUP
2011-02-21 - West Ham United vs Burnley
A Sports Betting Pick by Addicted
Football : England : FA Cup
Monday, February 21st, 2011 - Kickoff 8:00PM GMT
WEST HAM UNITED
Avram Grant remains in charge of the Hammers, despite their Premier League woes, and will see his team entertain Burnley, whom they last met in the Premier League last season. West Ham ran out 5-3 winners on that occasion, and Carlton Cole, who scored in that match, is in the team again.
West Ham come into this on the back of a stunning comeback to earn a draw at West Brom having trailed 3-0. They have also had almost a week and a half to rest, while Burnley were in action during the week. Despite being unable to scrape out of the relegation zone, West Ham have done very well in the domestic cup competitions, with a perfect record at home.
In the FA Cup, they have beat Barnsley 2-0 at Upton Park, and then knocked out Nottingham Forest 3-2, again at Upton Park, via an Obinna hattrick. With the team having won all 4 of their home matches in the Carling Cup, only to narrowly miss out on a place in the final against Arsenal, they will play their hearts out here to achieve something since the drop to the Championship looks very likely.
Some of the bad news regarding team news suggests Obinna is doubtful for this one, along with Robbie Keane and ex-Arsenal defender Matthew Upson. This will weaken the team a bit, but Avram Grant does have his the advantage of playing this one in East London, where his side has done well outside the Premier League. There is also his record of getting every team he has ever managed to a Cup final (Chelsea - Champions League, Portsmouth - FA Cup) so maybe he gets his team into the next round. You can get 2.00 at Pinnacle and it's not a bad bet at all, in my opinion.
BURNLEY
Like I said, Burnley lost their last match to West Ham, but that was last season when they were in the Premier League. This year they are playing in the Championship and are actually have 2 wins and a draw coming into this match. That draw came against Cardiff City, and was played in Wales, so the 1-1 score is not a bad result.
The team will be eager to at least get a draw, as that would mean a replay at Turf Moor, where they actually beat West Ham last year. 2-1 was the result on that day. Back to the form though, and I see looking at results that Burnley have lost just 1 of their last 9 matches, which is very impressive as that run has seen them move quite close to the playoff part of the Championship.
What does interest me is that the team has not managed to keep a clean sheet in any of their recent games, even though they are without a loss in their last 3. In fact, you have to go back 7 games before you can find a Burnley clean sheet. Can they come to West Ham and keep them out over 90 mins? I doubt it.
BETTING VERDICT
West Ham may be missing strikers, but I would not bet on them being kept off the scoresheet. However, a West Ham clean sheet is a very rare thing indeed.
Burnley have been in great form and although they lost last year at Upton Park, they did score 2 goals at home in beating this team and will come into this with the confidence and belief that they can come away with at least a draw, if not a win, and will surely attack and net at least once.
So ...
The Pick :
Both teams to score
BEST BETTING TIP :
Take both teams to score @ 1.90 (Bet365)
