English Premier
2011-05-07 - West Ham vs Blackburn Rovers
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football : English Premier League
Saturday 7 May 2011 - Kickoff 3pm
West Ham United
Avram Grant and the rest of the West Ham United management must realise what kind of desperate situation his team is now facing with just 3 games left to play this season. Last week it was suggested by one of their owners, David Sullivan, that the team had a 25% chance of staying up- that might have slipped a few more points since then.
West Ham have 32 points this season, leaving them 3 points from safety, although a win here could see them move out of the relegation zone thanks to their goal difference being just slightly worse than Blackpool and Wigan. They are 5-4-8 at Upton Park this season, scoring 23 goals and conceding 27.
Picking up just 1 point from a possible 18 in the Premier League does not provide a lot of confidence for the fans of West Ham, and the Hammers have now lost 5 in a row. They have lost their last 2 at Upton Park after winning 4 of 5 there in all competitions, but West Ham have shown a lot more in games recently than the 3-0 loss at Chelsea and the 2-1 loss at Manchester City may suggest.
There could be better news for Avram Grant if Scott Parker passes his late fitness test to start in this game. Matthew Upson is a doubt after coming off injured at Manchester City last weekend.
Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers looked to be slipping into the relegation zone after a miserable run of form in recent weeks, but a vital 3 points were gained last week although there are still tough challenges ahead with trips here and to Wolves and the visit of Manchester United to come.
The team remained in 16th place after picking up the 3 points against Bolton, but they now have a 3 point gap to Wigan in 18th and have a superior goal difference on the teams below them. Blackburn still likely need 1 more win to be safe, but may find that tough to grab away from Ewood Park where they are 3-2-12, scoring 20 goals and conceding 40. Only Wolves have lost more away games while no team has conceded more away goals.
The win over Bolton was the 1st for Blackburn in 11 attempts in the Premier League. Blackburn have failed to win any of their last 7 away games in the Premier League, but more importantly have lost 6 of those games. They have conceded at least 2 goals in each of those games, the other being a 0-0 draw at Arsenal. The bad away run has included defeats at Sunderland, Aston Villa and Wigan.
Junior Hoilett, Michel Salgado and David Dunn will all need late fitness tests to determine their availability. Steve Kean has admitted that he expects to be with 2 of the 3 players mentioned.
Head to Head
Blackburn have won 1 of the last 14 Premier League meetings between these sides.
The last 4 games have ended in draws, but West Ham had won 5 in a row before that.
How about this for a record- West Ham had won 9 in a row against Blackburn at Upton Park before they played out a 0-0 draw here last season.
Prediction
West Ham have been putting in some solid enough performances but they need to start getting points else they will be playing in the Championship this season. With the bottom being as tight as it is, West Ham could move out of the relegation zone with a win here and also drag Blackburn back into the battle.
Blackburn have been in horrible form in recent weeks but the 1-0 win over Bolton last week could work wonders for them. Unfortunately, it is their form at Ewood Park that could save them but they only have the 1 game with Manchester United left there and have really been struggling away from home in the League.
While Blackburn did earn a 0-0 at Arsenal, they have conceded at least 2 goals in 7 of their last 8 away games and that is the kind of form that can really hurt a team at this late stage of the season.
This should be a fairly tense battle, but I think West Ham can grab a vital 3 points. They have been unlucky in recent games not to pick up more points and have definitely been playing better at Upton Park, even though they have lost their last 2 here.
The Hammers also have a very strong home record against this opponent, and I think they can give themselves a chance to survive.
The Statistics :
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Pick :
West Ham United 2-0 Blackburn Rovers
BEST BETTING TIP :
I'll back West Ham United WIN @ 2.1 (2 UNITS)Follow me on Twitter- the direct link is below
