English Premier
2010-12-11 - West Ham vs Manchester City
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football : English Premier League
Saturday 11 December 2010 - Kickoff 3pm
West Ham United
West Ham United picked up a couple of big results with wins over Wigan and Manchester United, but they were brought back down to earth with a disappointing loss at Sunderland last weekend. Christmas is usually an essential time for teams at the top and bottom of the League and the next 5 games for the Hammers could be crucial to their chances.
Avram Grant saw his side briefly move off the bottom of the table last Saturday, but their own defeat put them back in 20th place. West Ham have 12 points so far this season which leaves them 3 points from the safety zone. They are 2-3-3 at Upton Park, scoring 10 goals and conceding 12 and must continue to pick up results here if they want to give themselves a chance to survive.
1 win in 10 Premier League games is not the kind of form a team wants to bring in to this hectic period of the season. West Ham are unbeaten in their last 5 games at Upton Park in all competitions and must be feeling a little more confident after back to back wins in front of their own fans.
Valon Behrami is hoping to return to the side after missing last week through injury. Jack Collison has returned to training but is unlikely to return to the first team until the New Year.
Manchester City
Roberto Mancini continues to focus on at least getting a Champions League place this season, but there must be a part of him that feels there is a chance for a genuine Premier League title challenge as the 3 teams at the top continue to drop points. However, rumours abound that there is disharmony in the camp which was only given more mileage after Carlos Tevez' reaction to being subbed last week.
The win over Bolton last weekend pushed City's total to 29 points this season, only 3 behind the leaders Arsenal and knowing that the 3 teams above them and the 1 below them all play each other this weekend. City hold a 3 point advantage over Tottenham Hotspur in 5th place. They are 4-2-2 away from home, scoring 13 goals and conceding 7, meaning only Arsenal have won more away games and no team has conceded less on their travels.
City lost 3 games in a row at the end of October moving into early November, but their form has picked up since then. They are unbeaten in 7 games since the last of those defeats, winning 4 of those games including 3 of their last 4. City are unbeaten in their last 3 away Premier League games, winning 2 of those.
Aleksander Korolev and Carlos Tevez are both out through suspension. Emmanuel Adebayor is available after injury and Kolo Toure is included in the squad.
Head to Head
West Ham do not have the best recent record against Manchester City, winning just 1 of their last 10 games in all competitions.
However, the Hammers have not lost to City at Upton Park in the last 3 games, 2 of those ending in draws.
The corresponding fixture ended 1-1 last season.
Prediction
This should be a fascinating game for both teams and both will be looking for the 3 points for different reasons. West Ham must improve on their home form as they enter a stretch of 5 games over the Christmas period that could determine whether they are playing Premier League football next season. More immediately, these games could determine if Avram Grant is still in charge in 2011.
Manchester City need to keep up the pace with the leaders of the Premier League and have a great opportunity with the rest of the top 5 playing one another. Harmony is not ruling the camp at the moment as shown by Tevez last week, and City have also struggled without their talisman up front. Mancini has seen his men lose 3 of the 4 games in which Carlos Tevez has not been involved this season.
I was very surprised to see City here as the odds on favourites to pick up the 3 points. The loss of Tevez is very important for the team and West Ham are definitely playing better at home than they started the season. I also feel the home team has enough confidence to score at least one goal, and that could be enough to avoid defeat.
I am going to take West Ham not to lose by picking them on the Handicap.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
West Ham United 1-1 Manchester City
