West Ham United v Ipswich Town
If we're honest, no-one expected Ipswich to be the team out of these two that would be fighting for their lives at this stage of the campaign. Many felt that the appointment of Glenn Roeder to the West ham hotseat would sound the death-knell for the Londoners, but the inexperienced manager has turned out to be just what the doctor ordered, as the Hammers are in the relative security of 12th place in the table.
But Ipswich have had almost the exact opposite of their fine 2000-01 campaign, and now find themselves staring down the barrel of the gun. It is tight at the wrong end of the table but it is still the Suffolk side that occupy that dreaded 18th position, with Blackburn ahead on goal difference (but ahead by no fewer than nine goals).
So this is the first of seven 'must-win' matches for George Burley's side. A repeat of last season's 1-0 triumph at Upton Park would be just the ticket - Martijn Reuser was the scorer that day, but given that the Dutchman hasn't scored for two months he seems unlikely to be the provider of a similar scoreline this weekend.
Since he, and the team as a whole, seem as keen as always to fling the ball over from the flanks at every available opportunity, Reuser may instead provide some chances if not goals himself. Ipswich have sent over more crosses and corners than any other Premiership side and the Dutch midfielder has been the supplier of the highest proportion of them (17%) of any player in the team.
His total is still less than that of West Ham hero Paolo di Canio, who has crossed the ball 193 times this season. Only seven Premiership players have hit more passes from wide positions than the Italian, which makes his title of 'striker' seem rather wide of the mark (and perhaps helps explain West Ham's lowly tally of 35 goals).
Last weekend saw a welcome rest for West Ham due to Arsenal's FA Cup commitments. Ipswich meanwhile saw no real upturn in their recent poor form, drawing their second game in a row and extending their winless run to six matches. The manager felt they were unlucky: "Sometimes in a game you can do everything except score. The players worked their socks off, put pressure on the ball and had six or seven great opportunities but didn't find the net."
But Ipswich have found the net with just 11% of their attempts this season, so perhaps they can expect to batter an opponent's goal with little joy. They will need luck on their side this weekend to put one, or more, over on England stopper David James, but the Tractor Boys are due some good fortune it seems, and this weekend may be their best chance of picking up an away win since their trip to Goodison Park seven weeks ago.
Chris Green
Match referee: A. Wiley
Alan Wiley takes charge of his first game at Upton Park this season. West Ham supporters will wish that they will get to see another exciting contest like the 4-4 draw at Charlton that Wiley took charge of in November.
Referee's Name FoulsPenaltiesYellow CardsRed CardsAve
Disc pointsA. Wiley 579 3 61 2 43.50
PLAYER HEAD-TO-HEAD
click below for in-depth comparisonCarrick v Holland
TEAM NEWS
The Hammers report more or less a clean bill of health, all their internationals returned unscathed from the midweek programme, so long-term absentee Don Hutchison remains their only problem.
Ipswich welcome back Argentine midfielder Sixto Peralta after a hamstring injury, but George Burley has worries over several defenders.
Chris Makin is out with ankle damage, while Titus Bramble has an injured heel and Wayne Brown a pulled hamstring. Fabian Wilnis is expected to come in. Nigerian winger Finidi George has a sore back, so young striker Darren Bent has been added to the party.
MATCH BETTING
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Match Result
West Ham 4/5
Draw 12/5
Ipswich 11/4
Correct Score
West Ham 1-0 6/1
West Ham 2-0 13/2
West Ham 2-1 7/1
West Ham 3-0 12/1
West Ham 3-1 12/1
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 80/1
West Ham 6-0 100/1
West Ham 6-1 100/1
Draw 0-0 8/1
Draw 1-1 6/1
Draw 2-2 16/1
Draw 3-3 50/1
Ipswich 1-0 8/1
Ipswich 2-0 16/1
Ipswich 2-1 12/1
Ipswich 3-0 40/1
Ipswich 3-1 33/1
Ipswich 3-2 33/1
Ipswich 4-0 100/1
Ipswich 4-1 100/1
Ipswich 4-2 100/1
Double Result
West Ham/West Ham 2/1
West Ham/Draw 16/1
West Ham/Ipswich 33/1
Draw/West Ham 7/2
Draw/Draw 4/1
Draw/Ipswich 7/1
Ipswich/West Ham 25/1
Ipswich/Draw 16/1
Ipswich/Ipswich 6/1
First Goalscorer
F Kanoute 9/2
J Defoe 5/1
P Di Canio 11/2
P Kitson 7/1
R Garcia 8/1
J Cole 10/1
T Sinclair 12/1
S Lomas 16/1
M Carrick 16/1
L Courtois 16/1
S Moncur 20/1
V Labant 28/1
S Minto 33/1
S Schmemel 33/1
I Pearce 40/1
H Foxe 40/1
C Dailly 50/1
T Repka 50/1
R Soma 50/1
N Winterburn 66/1
No Goalscorer 8/1
M Stewart 13/2
M Bent 7/1
A Armstrong 8/1
P Counago 9/1
M Reuser 10/1
F George 12/1
M Holland 16/1
S Peralta 16/1
J Magilton 20/1
T Miller 20/1
J Wright 33/1
J Clapham 33/1
H Hreidarsson 33/1
M Venus 33/1
U Le Pen 33/1
T Bramble 33/1
T Gaardsoe 33/1
J Mcgreal 80/1
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By Road:
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