Bolton V West Ham
Date & Kick-Off: Saturday, 9 April 2011 – 15:00 (GMT)
Competition: Barclay’s Premier League
Most teams have a nemesis, someone they struggle to overcome time and time again. The fact Bolton have bossed virtually every Premiership encounter with West Ham shouldn’t be all that shocking considering, as everyone tends to have a whale of a time against those suspect, hapless Hammers.
Witty comments aside, Bolton’s record against West Ham is actually very impressive. Not only have they won the previous seven meetings in all competitions, home and away, they’ve also won the last seven consecutive league meetings at The Reebok – a run which stretches right back to 1995.
Bolton also played West Ham twice at home last season, once in the league and another in the Carling Cup. The Trotters won both encounters 3-1. Yet more formidable, some might even say gruesome statistics for all you Hammer-lovers out there. Oh, and the clash at Upton Park earlier in this season also went Bolton’s way, fittingly by another 3-1.
However, this bunch of East Londoners, not that there is too many around in the first-team squad at this precise moment, should defy the history and actually contest this fixture on Saturday. Put up more stern resistance than any previous West Ham outfit has. That despite Avram Grant’s absence on the touchline, with the Israeli serving a one-game touchline ban at The Reebok.
The Hammers are enjoying a decent run of form, or at least were. A 4-2 home defeat at the hands of league leaders Manchester United last weekend ended West Ham’s four-match unbeaten run. But not only did it halt an encouraging sequence, the manner in which Grant’s men were beaten will have left a bitter taste in the mouths of all the players, who at one stage had worked so hard to pull two-goals clear only to capitulate in the second period.
Should last week’s gut-wrenching loss not have too big an impact on the morale and confidence of the players, West Ham should be in with a chance of snatching some points on Saturday, from a fixture which has brought them nothing but heartache, misery and a heap load of embarrassment over the years. As before the 4-2 reverse to United a week previous, West Ham had lost just two of eight in the league and were scoring goals for fun.
Their two goals against United took their tally for their last five games to 11, and although they did draw a blank in their most recent away assignment, it was a positive blank, if there ever is such a thing, in a 0-0 draw away at Tottenham. Before that, West Ham had scored two at Everton in a 2-2 draw, three at Blackpool in a 3-1 triumph and another three at West Brom, in a 3-3 draw which saw those usually spiritless Hammers come from 3-0 down to register the most unlikely of point.
It has taken a while, but there is finally some character in this West Ham team. We only hope the defeat last Saturday to the best team in the Premier League, according to the league table, hasn’t knocked the stuffing out of them, as before that rather unfortunate loss they were beginning to gather some eye-catching momentum.
We aren’t at all surprised that Bolton are the favourites. After all, their record against West Ham is overwhelming. I’m sure the fact Owen Coyle’s men are chasing their fourth-straight home win also came into the equation. Even so, despite all the fancy statistics which would make a punt on the home side seem a bank-job, we believe there’s value in those travelling Hammers in a match they desperately need something from if they’re to leap straight back out of the relegation frying pan.
Bolton, meanwhile, well there season is pretty much over, with relegation from the top-flight virtually impossible now, while Europe has also passed them by. So the hungrier team should be the visitors. We shall see if that’s the case.
Betting Tip: LAY of Bolton @ 2.32 Betfair (I’m no good at conversions, but that works out at around a 5/6 punt – me thinks!)
Other Bet(s):
Draw @ 3.40 totesport
Both Teams to Score @ 1.75 VictorChandler
Mark Noble to Score @ 7.00 WilliamHill
West Ham’s Mark Noble rarely misses from the spot, as he displayed at Upton Park last week when dispatching two from 12-yards against United. Bolton are missing the player who breaks most opposing attacks down in American midfielder Stuart Holden, so West Ham should have more success in getting the ball forward into the Bolton third in the combative midfielder’s absence, and that could lead to a possible spot-kick at some stage, especially with flat-footed David Wheater in the heart of the Bolton defence.
