At the beginning of 2015, West Ham were enjoying their best season in a long time. They had realistic chances of European qualification and were optimistic about their chances in the FA Cup. Fast forward to today and they have slipped to mid-table, suffered a heavy defeat in the fifth round of the FA Cup and have not won a game in their eight – and that was against League One side Bristol City.. Their last win in the Premier League was all the way back in the middle of January when they defeated Hull 3-0. They have picked up only three points from a possible 21 since then and look destined for a battle to finish in the top half of the table.
After an embarrassing 4-0 defeat at home to Aston Villa last Saturday, the Sunderland board sought to act and sacked Gus Poyet as manager. Despite reaching the League Cup final and overseeing a miraculous escape from relegation last season, the Uruguayan has been unable to build on that and the Black Cats are once again deep in relegation trouble. They sit one point above the bottom three and have won only once in their last 12 league games. Dutchman Dick Advocaat has been brought in until the end of the season in an attempt to lead them to safety. It is somewhat of a surprise that he has been chosen when the club is in such a dire position due to having no experience of the English game.
There’s no doubt that another long term injury to Andy Carroll has had a huge effect on West Ham’s season. Although the striker missed the beginning of the season because of a different injury, and the Hammers were able to enjoy a positive beginning to their campaign, they have been unable to change their style of play effectively to counter for his absence. He may not be the most prolific of goalscorers (five league goals this season) but his overall presence is a huge asset and he is the focal point for the team.
A win tally of only four all season illustrates the struggles of Sunderland under Gus Poyet. It is the joint lower number of wins of any side in the division and they only reason they remain outside the bottom three is down to the number of draws they have had – a division high of 14. Only Villa have scored fewer goals than Sunderland as well which is another indication of how difficult a job that awaits Advocaat, who was most recently employed as manager of the Serbian National team for a spell of four months last year.
There is no getting away from how much both these clubs are struggling. The away side are clearly more desperate for the points given their plight but Sam Allardyce has been extremely disappointed with his own club and will be hopeful of getting back on the winning trail. They have only won one of their last six at home though and whilst I do not hold out much hope for Sunderland in the long run under their new manager, it wouldn’t surprise me to see him set his players up in a disciplined fashion and add to their ridiculous number of draws.
Draw 13/5 @ Ladbrokes
