We’ve had a pretty decent record over Cardiff City in recent years, but that all goes out the window when you consider the state our club currently finds itself in.
Five straight wins, four of them with clean sheets, against the Bluebirds sounds pretty good but, at the moment, we’ll be lucky to have five shots on goal at the Cardiff City Stadium on Saturday.
But it’s not all doom and gloom. The news that Andy Carroll returns to the squad will give everyone associated with the club a huge boost as we go in to yet another must-win, six-pointer in the Premier League. We’ve been desperate for his return all season and Allardyce has admitted that he will play a small part.
Of course we can’t expect him to make an instant impact, but just having there with the match day squad could be just what the players need to start believing in themselves again.
The results in the cup against Nottingham Forest and Manchester City, as poor and humiliated as they were, were hugely insignificant compared to the importance of what we need to do in the league, which is why it may be a blessing in disguise that we’re out of both domestic cups now. Time to solely concentrate on staying in the top-flight and rebuilding the club’s pride and passion.
Cardiff’s new boss, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer makes his home debut tomorrow, which normally means one thing to us. We’ll lose. But perhaps we won’t this time? Perhaps we’ll actually come out fighting for once and put on a performance akin to the ones at White Hart Lane? Let’s hope so, because it’s certainly becoming painful and boring watching us lose every single week.
And Allardyce? Well the less said about him the better at the moment. Those of you hoping that he’ll be sacked if we lose to Cardiff should not be disappointed if he isn’t, as David Sullivan refuses to believe sacking him is the answer to our problems.
I hope I’m wrong, I really do, but I just can’t see the board biting the bullet now, particularly if they haven’t identified a definite replacement.
Prediction: I just don’t know where the next win is coming from at the moment. Score draw.
Team News:
Cardiff City (17th, 18 points)
New arrival Magnus Wolff Eikrem could make his Cardiff debut after he signed from Heerenveen on Wednesday.
Former West Ham striker Craig Bellamy is expected to return to the Cardiff side after recovering from a knee injury.
West Ham United (19th, 15 points)
Sam Allardyce will make a “calculated decision” on whether to use striker Andy Carroll after he was named in the match day squad for the first time this season following a foot injury.
James Tomkins also returns to the Hammers squad following a groin injury, but Ricardo Vaz Te will have to wait for his return from a dislocated shoulder despite returning to training this week.
Winston Reid (ankle), James Collins (calf) and Joey O’Brien all miss out through injury, while captain Kevin Nolan serves the third games of a four-match suspension.
Words from the Managers:
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Cardiff City manager…
“It’s never a ‘must win’ game at this part of the season.
“If we can get something like the Sunderland performance, we will get a result.
“We’ve got to develop one step of a time now and get the performance and get the team playing like we do.”
Sam Allardyce, West Ham United manager…
“The players are committed, you can’t question the commitment. It’s an easy thing to say.
“They are in a lack of confidence mode at the minute, I can tell you that, they are distraught about the way things are but we have to lift ourselves up. The Cardiff game is a massive game, in many ways much bigger than the Manchester City game.
“We’ve got to get out there, face the music and use it to anger us, make us mad, and win matches. You either come out fighting or you sink and die. I come out fighting as a manager and my staff and players are the same.”
Last 10 Meetings:
Match in Numbers:
4 – West Ham have won their last four league meetings with Cardiff without conceding a goal.
6 – But the Hammers have lost their last six away matches.
14 – Sam Allardyce’s side have dropped fourteen points from winning positions so far this season, more than any other team.
10 – Cardiff have failed to score in ten of their Premier League matches this season, which is a league high.
3 – The Bluebirds have lost three of their last four Premier League matches.
1 – West Ham have lost just one of their last ten away matches with Cardiff City.
0 – Cardiff are the only team in the Premier League yet to win or concede a penalty this season.
Head-to-Head (all competitions):
| Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | GD +/- | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60 | 32 | 16 | 12 | 98 | 59 | +39 | 53.33% |
