West Ham United will look to pull further away from relegation trouble on tonight as they aim to make it three on the spin against Norwich City.
The Irons finally shrugged that giant monkey of their back as they finally claimed their first back-to-back wins in the Premier League with victory over Aston Villa on Saturday.
The form of Kevin Nolan will bring a smile to the face of Sam Allardyce, after a sticky couple of months Nolan has finally found some redemption with back to back braces to help the Hammers to two 2-0 victories on the spin.
They come back to Upton Park with the knowledge that a win could see them go five points clear of the relegation zone and firmly into mid-table, something the West Ham faithful dared not dream about a month ago.
I echoed the importance of this month and it couldn’t have started any better with victories over Swansea City and Aston Villa, and they now welcome fellow strugglers Norwich with realistic ambitions of making three in a row.
It will be a simple team talk for Sam Allardyce, he just has to reiterate the importance of just carrying on from where they left off, three more points could see them up to tenth place, dizzy heights indeed for the Hammers.
With Andy Carroll still missing thanks to his rather controversial sending off against Swansea, Sam Allardyce must choose between Carlton Cole and Marco Borriello.
Both performed admirably at Villa Park on Saturday, both held the ball up well, with Borriello making his debut, he may have looked a little chunky but he worked hard, and his passion at full time was lovely to see.
But it was the performance of Matthew Taylor, who continues to keep Italian star Antonio Nocerino and Mohamed Diame out of the team, his hard work and commitment is second to none and his performances at centre midfielder has meant that he is quickly becoming the first name on the team sheet.
In his pre-match presser, Sam Allardyce told press the importance of this game, he said: “Every game recently has been massive in terms of trying to get the team in a better position in the league. I think that at the moment we’re in a fantastic vein of form and results, helped by the squad coming together more and staying fit.”
Norwich won’t be a pushover though, they have already beaten the Hammers this season 3-1 and I believe their position is a little bit of a false one; they have played well in recent and have been unlucky.
Saturday in particular, they could easily have beaten Manchester City, but had to settle for a goal less draw.
They have some dangerous players that the Irons will have to keep an eye on, with Gary Hooper and Nathan Redmond in particular impressing for the Canaries in recent weeks. Chris Hughton is a manager who is battling for his job, and knows a win will buy him some more time.
This month for Norwich could see them rise in the table, apart from Tottenham they have some winnable games against Villa and Stoke, level on points with the Hammers it is a same scenario for Hughton and his men, a win at Upton Park would ease the pressure.
Make no bones about it, this is a massive game for both teams, and before the clash Hughton told press that it is time his players found their shooting boots, he said: “We have had some clean sheets against good opposition, but we have just fallen short at the other end.”
Both teams know the importance of this clash, and with the dizzy heights of tenth place on offer, it should make for a good end-to-end game.
Team News: West Ham will again be without the suspended Andy Carroll, who serves the second of his three-match ban.
Marco Borriello could be handed his first start after coming off the bench at half-time against Aston Villa.
Meanwhile, Joe Cole and Mohamed Diame return to the squad, whilst Ravel Morrison still has a niggling groin strain.
Norwich City: Chris Hughton is awaiting news whether Robert Snodgrass will be fit to play after missing the match with Man City with a groin injury.
Gary Hooper has overcome a kick to the foot suffered in that match, but Jonas Gutierrez is out.
How to avoid the troublesome tube strike:
It does unfortunately look like a walk to either Stratford or West Ham after the game, as the Hammersmith and City line as well as district line will more than likely be affected by the Tube staff strike which comes into effect at 9.30 pm on Tuesday.
From there if you’re going to Waterloo it’s just a simple trip on the Jubilee line. To St Pancras it is slightly more problematic it will be a trip to Mile end, before a central line trip to Holborn, then two stops of the Piccadilly line to st Pancras.
Check TFL.com for more details.
Where to drink: Black Lion, Duke of Edinburgh
Last five (League only)
West Ham:
· Cardiff City 0-2 West Ham
· West Ham 1-3 Newcastle
· Chelsea 0-0 West Ham
· West Ham 2-0 Swansea
· Aston Villa 0-2 West Ham
Norwich City
· Everton 2-0 Norwich
· Norwich 1-0 Hull
· Norwich 0-0 Newcastle
· Cardiff 2-1 Norwich
· Norwich 0-0 Manchester City
Bowdenwhu predicts:
West Ham United 2-0 Norwich City
Tweet me @Bowdenwhu
Come on you Irons!
FYI the Jubilee line is part of London Underground so I would assume this will not be working and travelling on C2C yesterday they made an announcement that West Ham station would be closed during the strike as it is manned by TFL staff. Hope this helps.
The Strikes off so should be as easy as it usually is to and from the Boleyn
Not that easy then Si??? 🙂