PORTSMOUTH v WEST HAM UNITED
npower CHAMPIONSHIP
SATURDAY 14 JANUARY 2012
KICK-OFF: 3PM
FULL AUDIO AND TEXT COMMENTARY - WEST HAM TV
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Introduction
• West Ham United return to league action at Portsmouth this Saturday sitting joint-top of the npower Championship with Southampton. Both teams have 47 points from 25 games, but the Saints, who go to Nottingham Forest on Saturday, have a plus 19 goal difference compared to the Hammers' 17.
• Portsmouth, with Michael Appleton in charge after the departure of Steve Cotterill, are in 17th place with 31 points from their 24 games to date.
• Big Sam's men will go to Fratton Park having amassed more points (24) on the road than any other npower Championship club this term. West Ham have won seven times (Doncaster Rovers, Watford, Nottingham Forest, Brighton & Hove Albion, Hull City, Coventry City and Middlesbrough) and drawn three (Millwall, Crystal Palace and Birmingham City) of their 13 away matches in the division this season.
• The Hammers are seeking a first away victory in five attempts including the 1-0 FA Cup third-round loss at Sheffield Wednesday last Sunday. Sam Allardyce's side have also lost at Reading (3-0), drawn at Birmingham City (1-1) and been beaten at Derby County (2-1) since winning 2-0 at Middlesbrough on 29 November.
• West Ham are looking for their second win double of the season, having beaten Coventry City at home and away. The previous Portsmouth meeting this season came on Saturday 10 September at the Boleyn Ground. With Matt Taylor, Henri Lansbury, Mark Noble and Carlton Cole on target in a seven-goal thriller that ended 4-3 to the Hammers. To add to the drama, substitute Freddie Piquionne was sent off in added time against his old club.
The teams were:
West Ham United: Green, O'Brien, Reid, Tomkins, McCartney, Noble, Nolan, Lansbury, Faubert (Bentley 63), Cole (Piquionne 85), Taylor
Subs not used: Boffin, Faye, Baldock
Goals: Taylor 9, Lansbury 53, Noble 72 pen, Cole 76
Portsmouth: Ashdown, Pearce, Halford, Ben Haim, Mokoena, Lawrence, Mullins, Norris, Varney, Huseklepp (Ward 78), Benjani (Futacs 83)
Subs not used: Henderson, Rocha, Kanu
Goals: Varney 8, Norris 60, Halford 90 pen
• There are several connections between the clubs with Tal Ben Haim, Hayden Mullins, Papa Bouba Diop, Gary O'Neil, Frederic Piquionne and Matt Taylor all having played for both. Hammers development coach Ian Hendon also appeared for Pompey during his playing days.
Team news
West Ham United
• West Ham United are likely to name a much-changed side to the one which lost at Sheffield Wednesday last Sunday.
• Robert Green, James Tomkins, Julien Faubert, Papa Bouba Diop, Mark Noble, Kevin Nolan and Carlton Cole could all return after being rested at Hillsborough.
• Abdoulaye Faye has returned to full training, having not played since 10 December at Reading. He limped out of the pre-match warm-up against Barnsley a week later with a calf injury.
• Teenaged duo Dan Potts and Rob Hall may miss out after being involved in the FA Youth Cup victory against Brighton & Hove Albion on Wednesday night.
• Herita Ilunga has returned from his loan spell at Doncaster Rovers.
• Marek Stech (shoulder), Matt Taylor (calf), and Guy Demel (thigh) are the only injury absentees.
• Pablo Barrera and Jordan Spence are on season-long loans at Real Zaragoza and Bristol City respectively.
• Ahmed Abdulla, Eoin Wearen and Cristian Montano, (Dagenham & Redbridge), Peter Kurucz (Rochdale), George Moncur (AFC Wimbledon) and Callum Driver (Burton Albion) are out on temporary loans at present - although Montano is due back at the Boleyn after Saturday's game at home to Hereford United.
Portsmouth
• Veteran striker Nwankwo Kanu could miss out with a back injury that kept him out of the Chelsea cup game last Sunday. It means Adam Webster, a 17-year-old striker, could retain his place in the squad.
• Former Portugal defender Ricardo Rocha is struggling with a knock, while winger Luke Varney is battling to be fit following a medial knee ligament problem.
Last time out
Sunday 8 January 2012
FA Cup with Budweiser third round
Chelsea 4-0 Portsmouth
Portsmouth: Henderson, Ward, Rocha (Williams 70), Pearce, Halford, Mokoena, Lawrence, Mullins (Huseklepp 67), Norris, Futacs, Kitson
Subs: Ashdown, Ben Haim, Hreidarsson, Webster, Benjani
Sunday 8 January 2012
FA Cup with Budweiser third round
Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 West Ham United
West Ham United: Boffin, O'Brien, Reid, McCartney, Potts, O'Neil (Montenegro 78), Lansbury, Collison, Sears (Hall 72), Carew (Nouble 65), Baldock
Subs not used: Green, Tomkins, Diop, R Lee
Previous meetings
• The teams' last meeting at Fratton Park was a goalless draw on Tuesday 26 January 2010 - the first match under the club's new owners David Sullivan and David Gold:
West Ham United: Green, Faubert, Tomkins (Da Costa 81), Upson, Spector, Diamanti (Stanislas 87), Kovac, Behrami, Noble, Collison, Nouble (Cole 73)
Subs not used: Stech, Daprela, Jimenez, Sears
Portsmouth: Begovic, Finnan, Kaboul, Wilson, Hreidarsson, Basinas, Mokoena, Mullins (Vanden Borre 64), Boateng, Utaka, Piquionne (Webber 73)
Subs not used: Ashdown, Ben Haim, Hughes, Ritchie
• The London side are unbeaten in five games against the team from the south coast.
• This will be the 35th meeting between the two clubs in the Premier League, Football League or knockout competitions. West Ham United have 14 wins, with six draws. Including Southern League and War League fixtures, the clubs have met 79 times, with West Ham winning 36 times and Pompey 29.
Us and Them
• West Ham United's biggest-ever win at Portsmouth was the 4-1 Premier League victory achieved at Fratton Park on 26 December 2008. Craig Bellamy scored twice, while Jack Collison and Carlton Cole were also on target.
• The biggest crowd to witness a Portsmouth versus West Ham United fixture was the 47,614 who turned out for Pompey's 2-0 FA Cup fifth-round success at Fratton Park on 11 February 1939. Portsmouth would go on to win the cup that season.
• West Ham United edged Portsmouth out for promotion to the Premier League at the end of the 1992/93 season. The Hammers finished second in Division One, beating third-place Pompey to promotion by scoring one goal more than the south coast side.
• Portsmouth were mathematically relegated from the Premier League on 10 April 2010 following West Ham United's 1-0 home win over Sunderland. Brazilian Ilan got the all-important goal.
• John Hamilton and John Blackwood (1904), Sidney Smith (April 1905), Harry Stapley (December 1905), H.Eastwood (1908), R.Beale (1914) and Jim Harris (1930) all made their West Ham United debuts against Portsmouth.
• Former West Ham United managers Harry Redknapp and Avram Grant both enjoyed spells in charge at Portsmouth, with Redknapp twice taking the reins at Fratton Park. Redknapp led the club to promotion to the Premier League in 2002/03 and FA Cup glory in 2008, before Grant led Portsmouth to FA Cup final defeat to Chelsea and relegation from the Premier League in 2010.
• John Carew and Erik Huseklepp have partnered one another in attack for Norway on a number of occasions in recent seasons.
• Aaron Mokoena played under Sam Allardyce at Blackburn Rovers during the 2008/09 season.
Head to head
(Last six meetings, Premier League unless stated)
10 September 2011 West Ham United 4-3 Portsmouth
26 January 2010 - Portsmouth 0-0 West Ham United
26 December 2009 - West Ham United 2-0 Portsmouth
26 December 2008 - Portsmouth 1-4 West Ham United
15 November 2008 - West Ham United 0-0 Portsmouth
8 April 2008 - West Ham United 0-1 Portsmouth
Overall record v Portsmouth (all competitions): W 14, D 6, L 14
Ten-year records
West Ham United
2010/11 Premier League 20th (33 points)
2009/10 Premier League 17th (35 points)
2008/09 Premier League 9th (51 points)
2007/08 Premier League 10th (49 points)
2006/07 Premier League 15th (41 points)
2005/06 Premier League 9th (55 points)
2004/05 Championship 6th (73 points - promoted to Premier League via play-offs)
2003/04 Championship 4th (74 points)
2002/03 Premier League 18th (42 points - relegated to Championship)
2001/02 Premier League 7th (53 points)
Portsmouth
2010/11 Championship 16th (58 points)
2009/10 Premier League 20th (19 points - relegated to Championship)
2008/09 Premier League 14th (41 points)
2007/08 Premier League 8th (57 points)
2006/07 Premier League 9th (54 points)
2005/06 Premier League 17th (38 points)
2004/05 Premier League 16th (39 points)
2003/04 Premier League 13th (45 points)
2002/03 Championship 1st (98 points - promoted to Premier League)
2001/02 Championship 17th (53 points)
Referee
• Saturday's referee will be Kevin Friend.
• A member of the Select Group of Premier League officials, Friend took charge of the Hammers' 1-0 win at Brighton & Hove Albion on Monday 24 October.
• Friend started refereeing at the age of 13.
• He began officiating in the Leicestershire Senior League and Midland Football Alliance before being promoted to the National List of Assistant Referees in 2000 and the National List of Referees in 2003.
• He was promoted to the Select Group ahead of the 2009/10 season and took charge of his first Premier League fixture on 20 September 2009, with Wolverhampton Wanderers beating Fulham 2-1.
• Before this season, the official had refereed West Ham United just once previously in a competitive fixture - the goalless Premier League draw with Blackpool at the Boleyn Ground on 13 November 2010. Friend was also in charge for the SBOBET Cup victory over Spanish side Deportivo La Coruna on 7 August 2010.
• Saturday's assistant referees will be Darren Blunden and Ian Cooper, with Iain Williamson acting as fourth official.
Old boys
• Papa Bouba Diop made 72 first-team appearances for Portsmouth between August 2007 and May 2010, winning the FA Cup in 2008 and finishing as runner-up in the same competition in 2010.
• Matt Taylor spent six seasons at Portsmouth between 2002 and 2008, winning the Division One title in 2003, making 203 first-team appearances and scoring 29 goals.
• Gary O'Neil joined Portsmouth at the age of 13, going on to make 192 appearances and score 17 goals for the club before joining Middlesbrough for £5m in August 2007.
• Frederic Piquionne scored eleven goals in 45 appearances on loan at Portsmouth from French club Olympique Lyonnais during the 2009/10 season. The France striker helped Pompey to reach the FA Cup final, where they lost to Chelsea.
• Hayden Mullins joined West Ham United from Crystal Palace for a bargain £600,000 in October 2003, going on to make 213 first-team appearances, scoring seven goals before moving to Portsmouth in January 2009. He started the 2010 FA Cup final defeat by Chelsea.
• Tal Ben Haim made 12 appearances in all competitions during a loan spell at West Ham United between July 2010 and January 2011.
• Former West Ham United managers Harry Redknapp and Avram Grant both enjoyed spells in charge at Portsmouth, with Redknapp twice taking the reins at Fratton Park. Redknapp led the club to promotion to the Premier League in 2002/03 and FA Cup glory in 2008, before Grant led Portsmouth to FA Cup final defeat to Chelsea and relegation from the Premier League in 2010.
• Other players to have played for both teams include: Greg Campbell, Lee Chapman, Jermain Defoe, Bill Ford, Hayden Foxe, Shaka Hislop, Billy James, Glen Johnson, Bill Joyce, Alex McDonald, Nicky Morgan, Sebastien Schemmel, Peter Shearing, Teddy Sheringham, Roy Smith, Stephen Smith, Pavel Srnicek, Alan Stephenson, Ron Tindall, Svetoslav Todorov, Charlie Whitchurch.
Up next
• West Ham United welcome Nottingham Forest to the Boleyn Ground for a 3pm kick-off on 21 January with Portsmouth travelling west to Cardiff City on the same day
General information
• The Hammers have sold their entire allocation of 3,187 standard tickets.