Sunderland vs West Ham preview

March 30, 2014
By: Nemanja Lazarevic

Sunderland vs West HamSunderland face a must-win game as they host West Ham looking to close the four-point gap behind safety and boost their survival bid.

The Hammers moved eight points clear of the bottom three by defeating ten-man Hull City, but lose at the Stadium of Light and they could again be in problems.

Sunderland have been showing a lot of improvement under Gus Poyet, but while they impressed in domestic Cup competitions, the Black Cats haven’t quite managed to live up to the billing in the Premier League.

Following a very good run of results in January, the Stadium of Light outfit suffered a huge dip in form, picking up just one point from five league fixtures, while crashing out of both FA Cup and Capital One Cup.

As a result, Sunderland sit four points behind safety and while they do have two games in hand on their relegation rivals, they will have to start winning soon if they want to avoid relegation to the Championship.

With games against Tottenham, Everton, Man City and Chelsea next, the game against West Ham could prove crucial to their survival hopes, so you should know home win pays 2.30 (13/10).

Fabio Borini returns to the side after he was ineligible to face parent club Liverpool, but Steven Fletcher and Keiren Westwood remain on the sidelines.

Probable starting line-up (3-5-2): Mannone – Brown, O’Shea, Bardsley – Johnson, Bridcutt, Ki, Cattermole, Colback – Altidore, Borini.

West Ham slipped in the danger zone as they suffered home defeat to Newcastle midway through January, but the team then embarked on an amazing run of results.

After holding Chelsea to a goalless draw at Stamford Bridge, the Hammers enjoyed four straight Premier League victories and they seemed to have virtually secured survival.

However, Sam Allardyce’s charges then went on to lose next three fixtures and they were again in a very difficult situation.

West Ham managed to seriously boost their survival hopes with a narrow win over ten-man Hull City, but their fans, nonetheless, protested against the manner in which the victory was achieved.

The Hammers now need just few more points to avoid the drop and they are priced at 3.60 (13/5) to claim maximum points at the Stadium of Light.

James Collins is doubtful with a calf problem, whilst Matt Jarvis, Marco Borriello and Joey O’Brien are definitely out.

Probable starting line-up (4-4-1-1): Adrian – Demel, Johnson, Tomkins, McCartney – Downing, Taylor, Noble, Diame – Nolan – Carroll.

We Highly Recommend These Places
Share your Opinion!