Manchester United In For A City Mauling?

Sir Alex Ferguson, in retrospect, bottled it at Anfield last weekend. In contrast, Roberto Mancini decided to freshen up after the international break and Manchester City got their just reward. It is the "noisy neighbours" who are stepping onto the "prawn-sandwiched" 75,000 capacity-filled Theatre of Dreams as the Premier League leaders.

United starts and finishes all their games strongly. Their movement and quick passing right from the get-go, often forces the opposing teams to make mistakes. The Red Devils also finishes matches very well. No team in the Premier League (bar Liverpool two seasons ago) has ever come back from losing positions more times than the "comeback kings" of Manchester United. This is reflected by their 22 goals scored at the 0-30 mins and 66-90 mins period.

City has a more controlled game, a bit like an Italian team. Their patient buildup play usually stretches defenses and creates numerous goal mouth opportunities. The Citizens have scored 19 goals between the match periods of 31-75 mins, showing that they kill off the opposing teams while able to conserve energy in preparation of the next game.

Both teams have been playing football that is exciting, full of flair and entertaining to watch. The Manchester Derby has been highly charged in the recent seasons and this meeting at Old Trafford will have the added significance of Premiership leadership at stake.

Continue Reading >>>

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.

Continue Reading >>>

Dismal Home Form Will Spur West Ham To A Win Against Fulham

After the away defeat against Manchester City, Zola had stated that the team including himself will have to bring the thunder back. This basically means that the players must show desire, motivation and fighting spirit if West Ham are to start winning again.

If the Manchester City loss can be considered an "acceptable defeat", then this weekend's match against Fulham is rightly labelled as "the Cup final". Personally, I doubt it's as serious as that but for sure, a win looks vital even at this early stage in the season. What better motivation for the players than the chance to correct a winless home record and continue bragging rights against Fulham. West Ham have not lost to Fulham, winning eight and drawing three in their last 11 meetings. Fulham is also in a slump and a win would see West Ham overtake Fulham in the Premiership table.

Steve Clarke has said in the club website that the team is ready and focused to achieve three points on Sunday. Scoring goals remain a problem and I hope that Guillermo Franco is available for this match as he looks an intelligent striker capable of goals. The positive side is that Fulham is also struggling for goals and the probable absence of Matthew Upson should not hurt the Hammers as much.

Another energetic performance from cult hero-to-be Diamanti can be expected. If he can chip in with some goals, I am sure that West Ham can grab only their second win this season at Upton Park this Sunday.

Probably Team News (as seen in The Telegraph)
West Ham United: Green; Faubert, Tomkins, Da Costa, Ilunga; Parker; Diamanti, Kovac, Noble, Jimenez; Cole
Fulham: Schwarzer; Pantsil, Hughes, Hangeland, Kelly; Duff, Etuhu, Murphy, Dempsey; Johnson, Zamora