West Ham United v Bolton Wanderers
Football: England, Premier League 2009/2010
Saturday, 6th March 2010 - Kickoff 3pm

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West Ham United

The arrivals of David Gold and David Sullivan as owners of this club has coincided with an upturn of fortunes as the Hammers pull away from the relegation zone. There is a real sense that West Ham could find themselves in serious financial difficulties if they cannot secure another season in the Premier League.

West Ham have moved up to 13th in the Premier League with recent results, but this position may indicate they are safer than reality dictates. The Hammers are only 3 points better off than Hull City in 18th spot and will hope to improve their 5-4-4 record at Upton Park. They have scored 23 goals and conceded 20 in those 13 games this season.

The form at Upton Park has kept West Ham above the drop zone and they have won 3 of their last 4 there, keeping clean sheets in each of those games. They are unbeaten in 5 games at home now and will hope to continue that against a side below them in the table.

Benni McCarthy may not be available for Gianfranco Zola but the attacking options have improved in the January window as well as the return of Carlton Cole. Herita Ilunga is also out.

Bolton Wanderers

Bolton Wanderers finally picked up another positive result under the guidance of Owen Coyle, a manager who is perhaps trying to enforce his style on this side a little too quickly. Coyle moved from Burnley to manage here as he felt Bolton gave him a better opportunity to survive in the Premier League, but they have a lot of work to do.

They moved up to 15th in the table with a win last time out, but are still heavily involved in the relegation scrap with only 2 points separating them from Hull City in 18th. Bolton are 2-3-8 away from home, scoring 12 goals but conceding 26.

Form under Coyle had not been good for Bolton, and their 1-0 win last time out against Wolves is the only Premier League goal they have scored in 6 matches. The Trotters have also failed to win any of their last 10 away League games, many of those at clubs around them in the table. Bolton have lost 4 of their last 5 away games.

Gary Cahil remains out of action, although he may be back sooner than expected in April. Mark Davies is out while Gavin McCann is a doubt.

Head to Head

The last 11 matches between these sides are very surprising. West Ham have won just 1 of those games while Bolton have 9 victories, including the last 5.

West Ham have only won 1 of the last 5 matches played at Upton Park between these 2 sides.

Bolton have beaten West Ham twice this season, one of those in the Carling Cup, and both victories have come at the Reebok Stadium.

Prediction

West Ham have really shown an upturn in form in recent weeks, most notably at Upton Park, but they still need to keep things ticking along if they want to avoid a relegation scrap. I think there are 3 worse off teams than the Hammers so I do believe they will survive, although I am not entirely convinced about them just yet.

Bolton Wanderers picked up an important confidence boosting win against Wolves last time out. They have got a little monkey off their back by finally scoring a League goal again and I think they may be able to push forward now. This will be a tough test for them, but they seem to enjoy visiting East London.

I am probably going against the majority here, but I think Bolton are going to pick something up in this game. They seem to have a little bit of a sign over West Ham, and while I cannot tip them to win, I will play Bolton on the handicap to take at least a point.

The Pick :

West Ham United 1-1 Bolton Wanderers

HANDICAP BETTING :

Bolton Wanderers + 0.5 Asian Handicap