Eng. Championship
2011-09-27 - West Ham United vs Ipswich Town
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football : English Championship
Tuesday 27 September 2011 - Kickoff 7:45pm
West Ham United
West Ham United are quietly getting over their early problems at Upton Park and moved menacingly up the Championship table as Sam Allardyce looks to get the team back into the Premier League in time for their move to the Olympic Stadium.
The Hammers are up to 4th in the table, picking up 17 points on a 5-2-1 record so far this season, leaving them just 2 points behind Southampton at the top of the table. West Ham improved to 2-1-1 at Upton Park over the weekend with their win over Peterborough, and they have scored 7 goals and conceded 6 in those games.
West Ham are unbeaten in 7 games in the Championship since losing on the opening day of the season to Cardiff City, while the other low point was going out of the Carling Cup at home to Aldershot. Since that defeat in the Carling Cup, West Ham have won 3 of 4 games in the Championship and have won their last 2 in front of their own fans.
There are a few fitness doubts for Sam Allardyce coming into this game, with Joey O'Brien, Guy Demel and Matt Taylor all needing late fitness tests. Gary O'Neil is out and Frederic Piquionne is suspended.
Ipswich Town
Paul Jewell is hoping the experience he has brought into his Ipswich side will help the side turn a corner in their early season form. Recent performances have seen an upturn in results and also a move up the table for the Tractor Boys.
Ipswich are 13th in the Championship having compiled a 3-1-4 record this season. They earned a credible 0-0 draw at Middlesbrough on Saturday to improve their away record to 1-1-2 on the season, scoring 4 goals and conceding 9.
They have only lost 1 of their last 4 games in the Championship since they were hammered 7-1 at Peterborough. Ipswich have lost 1 and drawn 1 of their away games since that heavy defeat, and they have failed to score in their last 2 games away from Portman Road.
Mark Kennedy is out for Paul Jewell, but Jason Scotland should be available for selection.
Head to Head
The teams last met in the 2004/05 Play Offs in the Championship that was eventually won 4-2 on aggregate by West Ham.
However, Ipswich have been unbeaten in their last 3 visits to Upton Park, drawing the last 2 of those, and they have only lost 1 of their last 6 games in this part of East London.
Prediction
Ipswich are playing better of late, but I think they are still struggling to get the correct balance away from home, despite the positive result earned at Middlesbrough on Saturday.
The home side created a few chances in that game and would have won with a bit to spare on another day and I think that may be a problem against a West Ham side that is feeling more and more comfortable playing at home.
The Hammers were not brilliant against Peterborough in their win on Saturday, but they are finding ways to win games.
However, they are only just finding ways to win the games at the moment rather than blowing by opponents who come to Upton Park with the idea of keeping things tight. Therefore, I am going to back the home side to win this game by exactly 1 goal which can be found at an attractive looking 3.80 at Stan James.
Both wins at Upton Park have come by 1 goal for the home side so I will back them to complete that hat-trick.
The Pick :
West Ham United 2-1 Ipswich Town
