The generosity of the fixture list for the Hammers early on in the season is coming to a close, with Bolton at home this weekend probably being the last banker. Following that we have Hull away (no longer a banker) and face Arsenal and Liverpool, although knowing the Hammers we will probably mess up against Bolton and Hull and get the points against the others!
Either way, certainly no need to ring the changes for the game this Sunday. We have got ourselves into a rhythm of nice football and the formation is clearly paying off, and will do so more at home than away. Guess the only question would be if Bellamy is fit enough to replace Di Michele – I suspect not and therefore would imagine we go out with
Green
Illunga – Upson – Neill – Faubert
Parker – Noble – Behrami
Etherington – Di Michele
Cole
Bench – Lastuvska, Sears, LBM, Bellamy, Collins, Bowyer, Mullins
Like I said in an earlier post, I’d still like to see a more defensive minded right back. Also, for those who have not seen Illunga as yet, look out for him, he is a quality player. Overall, this is a strong team and a difficult formation to play against, as it tends to drag opposing defenders out of position. Clarke and Zola have got this one spot on.
Bolton themselves are a turgid, stubborn side who I cannot say I have a lot of time for, more so since they helped send us down rather gleefully a few seasons back. They’ll come down and park a bus in front of us and hope that Kevin Davies nicks one. But if we play to our ability, we should see them comfortably off the park. I predict an early Carlton Cole goal to put us 1-0, followed by 70 minutes of tension, then sub Sears comes on and finishes it off for a 2-0 victory for the Hammers.
Coral will give you 6/1 for that, as usual you can click below for a free £10 bet.
As a reminder, the game is on Sky on Sunday, kick off 1.30pm. The game will also be available in Sky High Definition. I’ve found a deal to get Sky HD for £75 rather than the usual £150, if you are interested, click the banner below. Come on you Irons!
We sent you down gleefully because everyone had to listen to the "we're too good to go down" crap for the latter half of the season.
Posted by: Trevor Houllier | 02/10/2008 at 13:44
None of us ever thought we were too good to go down, it was the media who made that headline. But it will be our pleasure to help push you further down the table in front of everyone on Sunday.
Posted by: Simon | 02/10/2008 at 14:09
Realistically, I think it'll be a draw.
Posted by: Trevor Houllier | 02/10/2008 at 14:45
We're the only side with a 100% home record in the premier league - 3 out of 3 victories - lets make that 4 in a row!
Posted by: Ben | 02/10/2008 at 15:20