West Ham v Norwich Betting Preview
Two sides for whom a win would do wonders. The Hammers haven’t tasted victory in their last four Premier League matches, while Norwich are sliding on a three match losing streak. This should be a great battle of wits between the two sides who are separated by just two points in the league. Both sides are struggling for form at the moment so a confidence boosting three points are on the line for both.
West Ham v Norwich Betting Odds at online bookmaker BetFred
West Ham Evens, Draw 9/4, Norwich 13/5
West Ham v Norwich Recommended Bet:
Can the Hammers get some cheer under their belt to start the new year with? Sam Allardyce’s men have slid to five defeats in their last seven matches and are struggling with confidence and injuries at the moment. They have picked up just one win in their last eight Premier League matches now and a miserable away defeat at relegation threatened Reading on the weekend has put them at a real low. That is back to back defeats for West Ham now, the Reading defeat following up a loss against Everton. At home this season, West Ham have ran up a record of four wins, three draws and three defeats and it is only recently that their form at Upton Park has declined with back to back defeats against Merseysiders Liverpool and Everton (both losses by a one goal margin). Prior to that, they had been pretty tight and they have scored at a rate of 1.7 goals per game at home this record, conceding at a rate of 1.2 goals per game. So not bad, average stats for a middle of the table side. They just need to pick their form back up though as they are sliding. Big mistakes cost them in the Reading match, both at the back and up front and just need to compose themselves a little more. One point out of the last twelve available is not enough, but there could be enough here for them back on home soil to grab a much needed win. The two sides drew 0-0 at Carrow Road earlier in the season and the Hammers are unbeaten in their last six against Norwich in all competitions.
Norwich are just stumbling at the moment, but almost got something out of a great game at Carrow Road against Man City on the weekend. From 3-1 down they fought back to 3-2 and then 4-3, never giving up. They lost though and that was the second home defeat in a row, adding up to defeats in all three of their matches over the Christmas period. So the big ten match unbeaten run they were on has quickly gone out of the window and they need to steel themselves again. Fortunately they seem to be finding the back of the net with a lot more frequency than they have done for a while. You have to take into consideration their tough run of games and the fact they fell to one goal margin defeats against Chelsea, West Brom and Man City does say something about them; they are still competitive and playing well. So there could be good value in them taking at least a valuable away point from Upton Park to start the new year with. They have lost just one of their last six away matches and despite their run of defeats recently, they actually look in better shape than West Ham. The Canaries probably have just that little more to offer in terms of quality, which could shape this game. Norwich have conceded at a rate of 1.9 goals per game on the road this season, and have scored at a rate of one goal per game. The Canaries’ most frequent score on the road this season has been 1-1 draws which have happened four times out of their ten away matches. Could be worth looking at 1-1 in the Correct Score market for value of 11/1 with online bookmaker BetFred.
Form
West Ham LWLDLL, Norwich WLWLLL
Stat Attack
The Hammers have lost five of their last seven matches
Norwich are on a three match losing streak
West Ham are unbeaten in their last six against Norwich in all competition
Over the last six matches, Norwich have taken 9 points to West Ham’s 4 in the EPL
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