West Ham Topped The Basement Four Mini League

West Ham's troubled season started out very promisingly back in August last year. An emphatic 2-0 win against Wolves remained the Hammers' only away win. That away form eluded us all season but it will be back against Fulham this Sunday now that relegation has been avoided.

One key advantage West Ham had in the relegation fight was the superb results against our fellow relegation strugglers. West Ham only lost once and won three home games against Hull, Portsmouth and Burnley scoring lots of goals in the process.

The Basement Four Mini League has West Ham at the top of the table.

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West Ham United v. Hull City Preview And Matchup

After a much needed home win against Birmingham, West Ham start again this weekend with another "winnable" match against Hull City. In fact, it's more than just a "winnable" match, Saturday's encounter with Hull is really a must-win crucial match for West Ham. Considering that it's a trip to Old Trafford after this, successive wins will instill a whole lot of confidence among the players.

Hull's decent run of form dipped against Blackburn recently and have won only once in their last 12 matches. Further to this, the Tigers have not won in 18 away matches. West Ham must be motivated and hungry enough to ensure that this wretched run of theirs will continue. Form guide suggests that there is little to separate these two teams, each having picked up six points from their last six matches. Hence, West Ham having home advantage should give them the edge in this basement battle.

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Hull City vs. West Ham United: A Crucial Six-Pointer But Diamanti Is Injured!

West Ham United travels to Hull City this Saturday and will be looking to put the miserable Everton match behind them. We have to start winning and stay in control of our Premiership destiny. We need to set off on a winning run. At the moment, West Ham cannot put together a win streak that our play at times deserves.

Jimmy Bullard is a livewire in midfield and therefore our West Ham players may not have much time on the ball. Nevertheless the pass and move, one touch football that Zola has the team playing should cause problems to Hull. Geovani, easily Hull's best player this season, is back from suspension and will pull the strings with Bullard in midfield.

Carlton Cole will be back to lead the line for West Ham. He has still not ended up on the winning side whenever he scored. I hope that he will break that trend in this match. Unfortunately, Alessandro Diamanti hurt his hip in training and will be out of this match. Diamanti have been the difference (as a substitute) in the games that he has played in. West Ham will surely miss his energy and enthusiasm.

Zola should set up his West Ham side with the formation which worked well against Sunderland and Arsenal. Hence the below is my favoured West Ham lineup.

The Flat Back Four's favoured West Ham lineup (4-4-2):
--------------------------------- Green

Faubert --------------- Da Costa ------ Upson ------------ Spector

---------------------------- Parker

----------------------------------------------- Noble

Behrami -------------- ----------- ---- ------------------- Collison

------------------------ Cole ------ Franco

So, let's get the much needed three points, jump over Hull City in the league position and we could be in very good shape against a travel-shy Burnley team. A really crucial six-pointer, all happening within the next two weekends. It's going to be two very significant weekends for West Ham United.

Can West Ham put together two consecutive wins? Come on You Irons!

The Relegation Battle Heats Up for Newcastle and Middlesbrough

The relegation battle heats up with Newcastle and Middlesbrough doing battle on Monday night. The fact that Hull City lost their match against Stoke City means that neither team should settle for a draw. West Brom's win against Wigan added more pressure on both teams and now the bottom three teams are level on 31 points apiece. So this derby is a must-win game for either side and the least we can hope is for both sides to treat the match with the intensity and the effort that it warrants.

I tend to agree with Steve McMahon (now an ESPNStar soccer analyst) that he has been extremely disappointed that teams at the bottom are not showing fight and commitment to beat the drop. If we had a choice, Sunderland, Hull, Newcastle and Boro should be relegated right now! WBA should stay up simply because their playing philosophy merit another shot at the Premiership even if their defence require a complete overhaul.

Whenever I have watched Newcastle, they have been nothing but disappointing. Their form at home has been abysmal, ranking 19th in the league. They have won only 4 games at home, so much for fortress St. James Park....overall Newcastle have been winless in 10 games, dating back to February. So what does Alan Shearer do to bring some joy back to Newcastle fans?

He could start by playing his fearsome threesome. The time has come to play Owen, Viduka and Martins in a three pronged attack 4-3-3 formation. On paper, this is mouthwatering, all three are match winners in their own right and hopefully together, they can create and take chances which should come their way.

The fearsome threesome - can they save Newcastle?

Shearer need to pack the midfield with fighters and grafters. The "Dogs of War" mentality must set in - it's the fight for survival! Players who will give you 110% commitment and fight for the cause.

Nicky Butt has been one of the few committed Newcastle player. A very good midfield defensive cover for the back four. Still, he is no box-to-box player. Kevin Nolan and Jonas Gutierrez are the sort of selfless players that Newcastle need to provide the support and extra bodies at both ends of the pitch. Shearer cannot do much worse than playing Nolan and Jonas either side of Butt.

Defensively, they have been a shambles....Coloccini is not coping with the pace and power of the Premier League. Pair Steven Taylor (who can score goals as well) with the impressive Sebastien Bassong at centre defence. I do think that Damien Duff at leftback is a great idea, though. Shearer and his coaching staff need to work hard to ensure that Newcastle backline understands what defending means i.e. marking and interceptions.

On the other hand, Middlesbrough biggest problem is scoring goals. They have scored the least goals in the Premier League this season. Yet, they sold one of their biggest threats in Mido.

Also, they are woeful away from home, gaining only 8 points on the road, ranking 19th in the league. Boro's strongest area is in midfield where Tuncay, Downing and O'Neill have consistently given their all for the cause. Between them, they have contributed 28% of the total Boro goals (25) to date. More significantly, this midfield trio are responsible for 47% of the total assists (15).

Boro's midfield trio - Are they able to carry Boro over the line?

Clearly, Boro's best creative work is through the tirumvirate of Tuncay-Downing-O'Neill. Gareth Southgate must tell his players to get the ball quickly to this trio. Only when this trio control the flow of matches, will Boro have a chance of winning matches and subsequently staying in the Premiership.

The one thing that Southgate need not worry too much is defence. It is a solid flat back four with imposing physical presence and tight defending. Brad Jones have slowly matured into a very skilled goalkeeper.

If both teams play to their strengths as mentioned, they can win their next remaining matches ensuring survival for both teams. Hull City has to play Bolton away and Man Utd at home in their last two games, so no points gained is quite possible. Sunderland have Portsmouth away and Chelsea at home as their last two fixtures, again zero points could be on the cards.

This makes Newcastle's and Boro's last two matches really important six-pointers. The make or break matches, so to speak.

Another interesting fact....since 2002, there hasn't been an instance when the same three relegated clubs came straight back up to the Premier League the following season. The closest to that happening had been in the 2006-2007 season, where Sunderland and Birmingham came straight back up after relegation in 2005-2006. That just goes to show how tough it is to firstly, recover from the shock of relegation and secondly, to gain promotion back into the big time.

Notwithstanding the stats and the complicated match permutations, I have no doubt that West Brom, Boro and Newcastle can make it back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

In case you are wondering....yeah, I do believe all three will be relegated come May 24th....