Sam Allardyce confirmed what most Hammers fans already know in his pre-match press conference this week, stating that West Ham still aren’t quite out of the relegation woods just yet.
After three defeats on the trot, the latest being a 2-0 home defeat to Manchester United on Saturday, Allardyce said “We’ve put ourselves in a little bit of danger again, there’s no doubt about that,”
The 2-0 home defeat against a rejuvenated Manchester United side dented West Ham’s chances of climbing up the table and further adrift of the relegation zone, with the Hammers currently positioned 14th in the league on 31 points.
The Upton Park faithful will deem the Hammers next two fixtures against Hull City and Sunderland, who are all in similar positions in the league, as vital matches in order to steer our club away from any possibilities of being dragged back into a relegation dog fight.
Allardyce admits it is harder to find a reason (or excuse?) for the Hammers’ recent run of defeats than it was during their poor spell at the turn of the year. Now the 59-year-old, who kept his job during the difficult stage of the campaign, cannot pinpoint why his side are suffering a similar slump, beyond them lacking a clinical edge in attack and defence.
“We haven’t achieved the results that the performances warranted,” Allardyce said.
“That is the disappointment for me because we knew the bad times we had in December and January were really down to the limited players we had available.”
“At the moment we have just not got that instinctive, killer edge on the front line and because we are going all out for it we have left the back door open a couple of times and the opposition have taken full advantage of that.”
Team News:
West Ham:
- James Tomkins could make way for Winston Reid
- West Ham are again only without Joey O’Brien and Marco Borriello.
- Matt Taylor returned to central midfield against Manchester United but Antonio Nocerino could come back in after a poor performance from the Hammers.
- Matt Jarvis could also come back in on the flank for Mo Diamé.
Hull:
- Shane Long is a doubt after being forced off during the win over West Brom at the weekend with a knee injury.
- George Boyd is still out through suspension.
- Maynor Figueroa could come back in at left-back, with Rosenior switching to the right and Elmohamady moving back into midfield.
Last 10 Meetings:
Likely Line-Ups:
Match Facts:
- There have been under 2.5 goals scored in 9 of Hull’s last 11 games in the Premier League.
- West Ham have been winning at both half time and full time in their last 3 home matches against Hull in all competitions.
- West Ham have won their last 3 home matches against Hull in all competitions.
- West Ham have scored at least 2 goals in their last 3 home matches against Hull in all competitions.
WHUFCTV.com prediction:
West Ham 2 – 0 Hull City
Fan Predictions:
@WestHamWorld 1-0 to the hammers coyi
— david drape (@DrapeDavid) March 25, 2014
@WestHamWorld 3-0 a must win game or else #COYI
— Bryan A. C. Downs (@bacd70) March 25, 2014
@WestHamWorld a less than convincing 1-1
— Dave Enright (@booshmoon2) March 25, 2014
@WestHamWorld @AdriSanMiguel clean sheet. 2-0.
— Frode Pedersen (@fpeder) March 25, 2014
@WestHamWorld hoping 2-1 to the irons #COYI
— RJP (@RobWHUFCjames) March 25, 2014
Head-to-Head (all competitions):
| Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | GD +/- | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 47 | 20 | 15 | 12 | 72 | 53 | +19 | 42.55% |
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