West Ham United v Everton
The 2001-02 campaign has been a bit of a disappointment for West Ham fans so far. Few supporters were overly impressed by the summer appointment of Glenn Roeder as manager, and some disastrous early-season form left many pundits predicting the former Watford coach would soon be discarded, while the Hammers looked like real relegation candidates.
Although the club have taken some notable scalps since to pull clear towards Premiership safety and Roeder has since signed a new extended contract, there is still a feeling of underachievement amongst the fans.
One aspect of the Hammers' campaign that has been anything but a disappointment though is their home form, which has been superb throughout. No team have conceded fewer goals at their home ground than the Hammers, who have shipped just seven in 13 fixtures. On Wednesday, Roeder and his men will hope to continue that good record against another side prone to underachievement, Everton.
While Roeder now seems to have the backing of the majority of his team's fans, Everton boss Walter Smith has yet to wholly win over the Toffees faithful.
With the side slipping ever closer to the drop zone, Smith has moved in the transfer market to bolster the squad recently and the Scottish boss can only hope that new boys Tobias Linderoth, David Ginola and Lee Carsley provide the added spirit the team so badly need.
Of that trio, Ginola is undoubtedly the one with the greatest reputation and so far he has managed to complete an impressive 76% of his passes for the Toffees - the second best proportion at the club. If the Frenchman can show the sort of form he displayed at Tottenham two years ago, he may well prove to be the ideal man to provide chances for Tomasz Radzinski and Kevin Campbell, and give the fans something to cheer about in the remaining months of the campaign.
Even if Ginola and the rest of Everton's new boys can create goalscoring opportunities at Upton Park, they will still have to face England international goalkeeper David James, who has been in phenomenal form recently. The former Liverpool man has saved 78% of the efforts fired at his goal - the joint best proportion in the Premiership - and is the main reason why the Hammers boast such a proud home record.
Everton are likely to pick up their form between now and the end of the campaign, but better sides than them have left the Boleyn Ground empty-handed and they seem unlikely get anything more than a point from this trip south. Bookies are offering 6/1 on West Ham grabbing what would be their third 1-0 victory at home in their last four league matches at Upton Park.
Rupert Webster
Match referee: B. Knight
Barry Knight takes charge of his first Premiership game at West Ham for almost two years on Wednesday when Everton travel to Upton Park. The Orpington official has actually been one of the stricter referees this season, sending two players off and awardig two spot-kicks in just seven league outings.
Referee's Name FoulsPenaltiesYellow CardsRed CardsAve
Disc pointsB. Knight 237 2 23 2 46.29
PLAYER HEAD-TO-HEAD
click below for in-depth comparisonCole v Ginola
TEAM NEWS
Fredi Kanoute is back in training after missing the defeat at Villa through illness. Steve Lomas, John Moncur and Michael Carrick are still out.
MATCH BETTING
click on links below to place a wager
Match Result
West Ham 8/11
Draw 9/4
Everton 10/3
Correct Score
West Ham 1-0 6/1
West Ham 2-0 13/2
West Ham 2-1 7/1
West Ham 3-0 11/1
West Ham 3-1 11/1
West Ham 3-2 25/1
West Ham 4-0 33/1
West Ham 4-1 28/1
West Ham 4-2 50/1
West Ham 5-0 80/1
West Ham 5-1 66/1
West Ham 6-0 100/1
West Ham 6-1 100/1
Draw 0-0 8/1
Draw 1-1 11/2
Draw 2-2 14/1
Draw 3-3 50/1
Everton 1-0 9/1
Everton 2-0 20/1
Everton 2-1 14/1
Everton 3-0 50/1
Everton 3-1 40/1
Everton 3-2 40/1
Everton 4-0 100/1
Everton 4-1 100/1
Everton 4-2 100/1
Double Result
West Ham/West Ham 7/4
West Ham/Draw 16/1
West Ham/Everton 40/1
Draw/West Ham 7/2
Draw/Draw 7/2
Draw/Everton 8/1
Everton/West Ham 25/1
Everton/Draw 16/1
Everton/Everton 15/2
First Goalscorer
F Kanoute 9/2
J Defoe 9/2
P Di Canio 5/1
P Kitson 6/1
R Garcia 10/1
J Cole 14/1
T Sinclair 14/1
L Courtois 16/1
J Moncur 20/1
V Labant 25/1
I Pearce 33/1
S Schmemel 33/1
T Repka 40/1
S Minto 40/1
R Soma 40/1
N Winterburn 50/1
C Dailly 50/1
H Foxe 50/1
No Scorer 8/1
K Campbell 13/2
T Radzinski 13/2
I Max Moore 9/1
N Alexandersson 14/1
D Ginola 16/1
J Blomqvist 16/1
T Gravesen 16/1
M Pembridge 20/1
T Linderoth 20/1
S Gemmill 20/1
P Gascoigne 20/1
A Stubbs 25/1
D Unsworth 25/1
I Tal 25/1
D Weir 33/1
A Cleland 50/1
P Clarke 66/1
A Pistone 80/1
For all these bets + much more go now to surreySPORTS.co.uk
By Road:
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