Eng. Championship
2011-10-15 - West Ham vs Blackpool
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football : English Premier League
Saturday 15 October 2011 - Kickoff 3pm
West Ham
I don't know whether West Ham get bored of not being in the news, but their bid to loan Carlos Tevez, even after Manchester City have told them they have no chance, is a little weird. Sam Allardyce was quoted as saying he will do whatever it takes to bring Tevez in, but maybe they are just trying to defer attention from the fact they will not be moving into the Olympic Stadium as they expected.
For now, the Hammers can concentrate on the Championship where they are 4th in the table and only 4 points behind Southampton who are leading the way. West Ham continue to struggle at home under the weight of expectation and they are 2-1-2 at Upton Park, scoring 7 goals and conceding 7 goals.
West Ham have won just 1 of their last 4 Championship games, that coming against Peterborough here, but they did lose last time out in front of their own fans to Ipswich Town. That loss to Ipswich is the only one they have suffered in 6 games since being beaten by Aldershot here in the Carling Cup. Goals have been a slight problem as they have scored just 3 in their last 4 games.
David Bentley has been ruled out for 6 months with an injury. Winston Reid, Matt Taylor and Mark Noble are all hoping to return to the squad, as is Guy Demel who could make his debut.
Blackpool
Blackpool impressed everyone last season with their style of play that almost kept them in the Premier League, but that was not enough for the layers who did not expect them to return to the top flight. Ian Holloway continues to defy expectations and has his side challenging at the right end of the table.
The Seasiders sit in 7th place in the early Championship table, but they are only 6 points off the lead, yet are still perhaps being underestimated by most general folk. Blackpool have been winning games at home, but they are only 1-3-1 away from home, scoring 6 goals and conceding 6.
Blackpool beat Bristol City 5-0 at home in their last game before the international break, leaving the fans a little happier as they had failed to win any of their previous 3 games. They have lost just 1 of their last 7 games, although they come into this one having failed to win any of their last 5 away games in all competitions. Blackpool have not kept a clean sheet in their last 4 away games.
Lomana LuaLua is in line to make his debut for the club this week, but Craig Cathcart is a doubt after missing Northern Ireland's last 2 qualifiers.
Head to Head
West Ham and Blackpool drew 0-0 here last season when both were meeting in the Premier League.
That is their only match played here in recent seasons, while West Ham will at least point to the 1-3 win at Blackpool last season for a confidence boost.
Prediction
West Ham are a terribly difficult team to predict, especially at home where they have struggled so far this season to put performances and results together.
The one thing you know about this match is that Ian Holloway will send out an attacking side that will look to score goals, but that also leaves them a little susceptible at the back.
One stand out from their games this season is the number of late goals they have either scored or conceded in their games.
Blackpool have either scored or conceded in the last 10 minutes in each of their last 3 Championship games, while West Ham have scored or conceded in the last 10 minutes in 4 of their 5 home games in the League.
With the way Ian Holloway sets his side out, you can definitely see chances being created until the final whistle, either for them or against them, so I like the chances of the last goal of the game coming between the 74th minute and the final whistle.
That has been priced up at 1.92 and has been a winner often in these sides individual games this season so I will take my shot with that again.
The Pick :
West Ham 2-1 Blackpool
