HOME     I     CURRENT SEASON     I     CLUB DIRECTORY     I     HISTORY         SEASON ARCHIVE     I     PLAYER ARCHIVE     I     THE HAWTHORNS     I     WEBSITE
      MATCH PREVIEW

WEST BROMWICH ALBION v WEST HAM UNITED
Barclays Premier League
Sunday 16th December 2012, 4:00pm
The Hawthorns

MATCH NOTES

Albion have not lost four successive league games since January 2011.

The Baggies last played a game on December 16 in 2006 when they beat Coventry City 5-0 at The Hawthorns in a League Championship encounter. In total Albion have played 15 games on this date, winning seven and losing five.

West Ham have managed just five goals in their seven Premier League away matches.

Albion are in their highest league position at this stage of a top-flight campaign since December 1980 when the club were also placed sixth following 16 games.

Albion's last six games: Arsenal (A) 1-2, Stoke City (H) 0-1, Swansea City (A) 1-3, Sunderland (A) 4-2, Chelsea (H) 2-1, Wigan Athletic (A) 2-1

United's last six games: Liverpool (H) 2-3, Chelsea (H) 3-1, Manchester United (A) 0-1, Tottenham Hotspur (A) 1-3, Stoke City (H) 1-1, Newcastle United (A) 1-0

TEAM NEWS

Albion

Baggies’ boss Steve Clarke has six injury doubts ahead of the clash with West Ham.

Goalkeeper Ben Foster, midfielder Claudio Yacob and left-back Liam Ridgewell all face late fitness tests along with three other players whom Clarke refused to name.

Squad from: Myhill, Foster, Daniels, Reid, Jones, McAuley, Olsson, Tamas, Jara, Reyes, Popov, Ridgewell, Yacob, Brunt, Mulumbu, Dorrans, Morrison, El Ghanassy, Gera, Fortune, Odemwingie, Lukaku, Long, Rosenberg.

West Ham United

Defender George McCartney suffered a knee during training this week and is unlikely to feature whilst Yossi Benayoun, Andy Carroll and Jack Collison (all knee), Mohamed Diame (hamstring), Ricardo Vaz Te (shoulder) and Alou Diarra (thigh) are definitely missing for the Hammers.

Squad from: Jaaskelainen, Spiegel, O'Brien, Reid, Collins, Tomkins, McCartney, Spence, Demel, Moncur, Taylor, Noble, Nolan, Jarvis, O'Neil, Maiga, Cole.

QUOTES

Baggies' boss Steve Clarke:

"It is a good club, I enjoyed my experience there and it's good to see them doing well in the Premier League. They have passionate fans who care about their team, they try to play football the right way. I don't care what anyone says about Sam and his teams, he always tries to play football the right way. They try to be positive, they try to get balls in the box, they try to score goals, and for me that is always the right way to play football. You can become stereotyped if you like and there is a little bit of that with Sam.

"He has got good football players in that team. I've watched a number of their games this season and they play good football when they are allowed to play good football. If it becomes a scrap then they are a team that can stand up for a scrap as well. Whatever type of game it is at the weekend, West Ham will be ready for it. But I can assure West Ham we will be ready for it as well."

West Ham boss Sam Allardyce:

"I think they are still playing well and competing very well. I saw how unfortunate they were to lose at Arsenal last week. Only two very poor refereeing decisions cost them the game so they may well have got something against Arsenal.

"At this moment in time, they are still playing very well but results have not matched the performances they have given.

"Their home form has been very good this year. Three defeats on the trot may put a little bit of doubt in their players and if that's the case we have to try and exploit that."

www.sportinglife.com

MATCH ODDS

Result

Albion Win: 21/20, West Ham United Win: 11/4, Draw: 9/4.

First Goalscorer

Long 5/1, Lukaku 11/2, Odemwingie 6/1, Cole 7/1, Fortune 8/1, Rosenberg 8/1, Nolan 8/1, Maiga 9/1, Morrison 10/1, Gera 11/1, Brunt 12/1, Jarvis 12/1, Dorrans 14/1, El Ghanassy 14/1, Noble 14/1, Fanimo 16/1, Taylor 16/1, Mulumbu 18/1, Moncur 20/1, O'Neil 20/1.

REFEREE

Phil Dowd (Staffordshire) - Last refereed an Albion game on the opening day of this season when the Baggies beat Liverpool 3-0 at The Hawthorns. The Staffordshire official refereed two Albion games last season - The 2-1 win away at Aston Villa in October and the 1-0 win over Chelsea at The Hawthorns in March. The Baggies have won six and lost just two of the last ten games Dowd has officiated.

TICKET INFORMATION

Tickets will remain on general sale to home fans only until the 4pm kick-off.

Seats for the Category B clash are priced adults £25, seniors £20, under-21s/students £15 and under-17s £10. These prices apply to all stands, apart from the West Stand, where no concessionary tickets are available.

The Smethwick End has sold out but there is availability in all other stands.

Albion are also running a 'Bring A Friend' offer for season-ticket holders for the game.

Each season ticket holder can bring guests into the stadium for the reduced price of either £10 for over-17s and £5 for under-17s (only over-17s tickets are available in the West Stand).

This offer, which is only available to season ticket holders, is on sale in person and by phone from the East Stand ticket office only. It is not available online.

WEATHER FORECAST

Mostly cloudy with a 10% chance of rain, 6°C.

FIXTURE HISTORY

The first ever meeting between the teams came in a friendly match in London in March 1896, Albion beating the Hammers, who at that time were known as Thames Ironworks, 4-2. The game was played under electric floodlighting.

Albion and the 'Hammers' first met in competitive action during the 1912/13 season. The then non-league West Ham knocked Albion out of the FA Cup, winning 3-0 in a 1st round 2nd replay at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea.

The 1923/24 season saw the first league meetings between the two clubs. United won the first game at Upton Park 1-0 before playing out a 0-0 draw a week later at The Hawthorns.

Albion's biggest win over the Hammers is 7-1, achieved at The Hawthorns in October 1925, Welsh international Stan Davies scoring a hat-trick. The Baggies have also recorded two 5-1 victories, in November 1931 at Upton Park and in May 1985 at The Hawthorns.

The Hammers' biggest win over Albion came in April 1965 when they ran out 6-1 winners at Upton Park with Brian Dear scoring five of the goals. United also beat Albion 5-2 in East London in November 1988 in the short-lived Simod Cup competition.

Albion have won just two of the eight Premier League meetings of the two clubs, one of them the first meeting at this level back in September 2002 at Upton Park, Jason Roberts scoring the only goal of the game.

United have lost only once on their last nine visits to The Hawthorns, a 3-2 defeat against Tony Mowbray's side in September 2008. The game was probably most notable for the Albion debut of a certain Jonas Olsson.

LAST LEAGUE MEETING AT THE HAWTHORNS

Albion 3-3 West Ham United
Barclays Premier League
Saturday 12 February 2011, 3:00pm

Albion: Myhill, Jara, Scharner, Olsson, Shorey, Brunt, Mulumbu (Morrison 14), Dorrans (Tamas 82), Thomas (Barnes 61), Odemwingie, Fortune. Subs not used: Carson, Pablo, Vela, Cox.

Goalscorers: Dorrans 3, Thomas 8, Reid 32 (og).

Booked: Dorrans, Brunt.

West Ham United: Green, Jacobsen, Reid, da Costa, Bridge, O'Neil (Spector 78), Parker, Noble, Boa Morte (Piquionne 57), Cole, Ba. Subs not used: Boffin, Hitzlsperger, Kovac, Faubert, Hines.

Goalscorers: Ba 50 & 83, Cole 58.

Booked: Boa Morte, Noble, Spector.

Attendance: 23,916

Referee: Lee Mason (Lancashire)

Demba Ba scored twice as West Ham's second-half comeback secured them a point from a thrilling encounter with fellow Barclays Premier League strugglers West Brom at The Hawthorns. Albion produced a stunning first-half performance in front of their new head coach Roy Hodgson, who was watching from the stands, scoring twice in the opening eight minutes through Graham Dorrans and Jerome Thomas before Winston Reid's own goal put them 3-0 ahead just after the half-hour mark. But things could not have been more different after the break as a Ba double - on his first start for the Hammers - and a header from Carlton Cole in between ensured the match finished all-square.

The Baggies, overseen by caretaker boss Michael Appleton, served up a treat for Hodgson in the first half but the former Liverpool manager, who was announced as Roberto Di Matteo's successor on Friday and takes up the reins on Monday, will be deeply concerned by the capitulation which followed. West Brom remain above the relegation zone on goal difference alone, while West Ham are two points below them, having moved off the bottom up to 19th.

The hosts appeared eager to impress Hodgson from the off and they made the best possible start as Dorrans put them in front after only three minutes. The Scotland midfielder, who had not scored all season, opened his account in spectacular fashion, unleashing a fierce drive from outside the box that flew into the top corner. Two minutes later Albion almost doubled their lead as Robert Green palmed Peter Odemwingie's cross to Chris Brunt, whose shot was on target but cannoned away off his team-mate Marc-Antoine Fortune. That was a near miss, but West Brom were looking rampant, and within moments, they had made it 2-0. Fortune made amends by providing the assist, laying the ball to Thomas who then coolly passed it across Green and into the net. The momentum showed no sign of letting up as Thomas muscled past two defenders, rounded Green and went down under the attentions of Reid, but referee Lee Mason waved away appeals for a penalty. Youssouf Mulumbu then had to be withdrawn for James Morrison, but West Brom remained on the front foot, with Odemwingie sending a free header from Dorrans' corner into Green's arms. West Ham thought they had pulled one back when Cole was slipped in and beat Boaz Myhill, but the effort was disallowed for offside. Reid then survived another scare at the other end when his apparent handball in the box went unpunished. The New Zealand defender was having a torrid afternoon and it got worse moments later as Albion extended their advantage. Dorrans sent a free-kick into the area and it deflected in off a hapless Reid to put the Baggies three up. Hammers captain Scott Parker tried to respond but Gonzalo Jara did enough to put him off as he shaped to shoot and then Myhill tipped Ba's strike on to the post, Morrison clearing the danger. But West Brom were soon attacking again, with Dorrans bringing a great save out of Green and Thomas shooting wide from distance. West Ham saw another attempt hit the woodwork in first-half stoppage time as Gary O'Neil cracked a shot against the bar, but the rebound went unconverted, as did a Manuel da Costa header soon after.

The visitors needed something quick at the start of the second period and found it five minutes in thanks to Ba, who chested down Mark Noble's lofted pass and tucked the ball past Myhill. The goal seemed to galvanise the visitors and Myhill had to get down to stop Luis Boa Morte's header from a corner. Hammers boss Avram Grant then threw on Frederic Piquionne for Boa Morte and the striker's impact was almost immediate as he nodded Noble's free-kick back across goal for Cole to head in and make it 3-2. Suddenly, with more than half an hour to go, it was game on and Piquionne nearly drew things level with a header that bounced off the bar. West Brom managed to switch play and Odemwingie was denied from the edge of the box by another fine Green save. But West Ham were in the ascendancy and went close again when Ba's shot was blocked by Nicky Shorey. The Senegal forward then sent a shot into the side-netting, and with seven minutes of normal time remaining, he scored the third West Ham goal which had by that point seemed almost inevitable. Noble was the provider once more, delivering a cross that was not dealt with and fell to Ba, who volleyed against the turf and in. Odemwingie and Piquionne had chances to seal victory in the dying moments, but it was honours even come the final whistle.

Sporting Life

CURRENT CONNECTIONS

Baggies' boss Steve Clarke was assistant manager to Gianfranco Zola at United for two seasons between 2008 and 2010.

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce was Albion's player / reserve team manager for two years under Brian Talbot from 1989-1991. Dudley-born Allardyce made just the one substitute appearance for the club.

Current Albion assistant head coach Kevin Keen made over 200 league appearances as a player for West Ham between 1983 and 1993. Keen also coached at various levels at Upton Park and acted as caretaker-manager on three occasions.

Baggies' left-back Liam Ridgewell started his playing career as a youth player at Upton Park.

PAST CONNECTIONS

Amongst the players to have turned out at various levels for both clubs are: Jeroen Boere, David Burrows, Peter Butler, Franz Carr, David Cross, Alan Dickens, Fred Fenton, Danny Gabbidon, Bobby Gould, Tommy Green, Sir Geoff Hurst, Harry Kinsell, Peter McManus, Frank Nouble, Nigel Quashie, George Reid, Charles 'Chippy' Simmons, David Speedie, Gary Strodder, Steve Walford and Chris Whyte.

Ex-Albion boss Archie Macaulay was a West Ham player; Stuart Pearson, who had a spell as assistant boss at The Hawthorns also played for the Hammers; Another former Albion assistant manager Frank Burrows had a spell as reserve team boss at Upton Park; Ex-United goalkeepers Tony Parks and Gerry Peyton both coached at The Hawthorns; Former Albion first team coach Peter Grant was assistant manager to Alan Pardew at Upton Park from 2004-2006.

ALL-TIME LEAGUE & CUP RECORD VS WEST HAM UNITED

 VENUE P W D  L F A
 Home 45 23 10 12 84 53
 Away 47 14 9 24 67 95
 Total 92 37 19 36 151 148

LAST TEN MATCHES AGAINST WEST HAM UNITED

DATE COMPETITION H/A F-A GOALSCORERS GATE
Sat 12 Feb 2011 Premier League H 3-3 Dorrans, Thomas, W Reid (og) - Ba 2, Cole 23,916
Wed 10 Nov 2010 Premier League A 2-2 Odemwingie (pen), Ibanez - Parker, Piquionne (pen) 33,023
Mon 16 Mar 2009 Premier League A 0-0   30,842
Sat 13 Sep 2008 Premier League H 3-2 Morrison, Bednar (pen), Brunt - Noble, Neill 26,213
Mon 01 May 2006 Premier League H 0-1 Reo-Coker 24,462
Sat 05 Nov 2005 Premier League A 0-1 Sheringham 34,325
Sat 06 Dec 2003 League Division 1 H 1-1 Mullins (og) - Deane 26,194
Sat 08 Nov 2003 League Division 1 A 4-3 Hulse 2, Deane (og), Hughes - Defoe, Deane 2 30,359
Sun 23 Feb 2003 Premier League H 1-2 Dichio - Sinclair 2 27,042
Wed 11 Sep 2002 Premier League A 1-0 Roberts 34,957
 
  HOME      CURRENT SEASON       CLUB DIRECTORY      HISTORY      SEASON ARCHIVE      PLAYER ARCHIVE      THE HAWTHORNS      WEBSITE  
 © www.albiontillwedie.co.uk unless otherwise stated