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WEST HAM UNITED v WEST BROMWICH ALBION
Barclays Premier League
Saturday 28th December 2013, 12:45pm
Upton Park

MATCH NOTES

The game will be the 95th competitive meeting of the two clubs. Both sides have recorded 37 victories in the fixture.

Four of the last five meetings between the two sides have ended in draws.

Albion have gone eight games without a win for the first time since the 2008/09 relegation season.

Albion last played a game on December 28 in 2010 when they lost 3-1 at home to Blackburn Rovers in the Premier League, Jerome Thomas scoring the hosts' solitary goal. The Baggies' last win on this date came in 2009 when they beat Scunthorpe United 3-1 in a League Championship game at Glanford Park.

West Ham's last game on this date also came in 2010 when they played out a 1-1 draw with Everton at Upton Park.

Albion and West Ham have had a different manager in charge for each of their five previous Premier League meetings at Upton Park. Sam Allardyce will be the first manager to break that run.

Albion's last six games: Tottenham Hotspur (A) 1-1; Hull City (H) 1-1; Cardiff City (A) 0-1; Norwich City (H) 0-2; Manchester City (H) 2-3; Newcastle United (A) 1-2

West Ham's last six games: Arsenal (H) 1-3; Manchester United (A) 1-3; Tottenham Hotspur (A, LC) 2-1; Sunderland (H) 0-0; Liverpool (A) 1-4; Crystal Palace (A) 0-1

TEAM NEWS

Albion

Caretaker manager Keith Downing is likely to make changes to his starting eleven after resting a number of players against Spurs on Boxing Day.

Shane Long faces a late fitness test on his calf injury whilst Victor Anichebe is once again a doubt due to his groin injury.

Squad from: Foster, Myhill, Daniels, Jones, Ridgewell, Olsson, McAuley, Lugano, Brunt, Sessegnon, Amalfitano, Mulumbu, Berahino, Yacob, Anichebe, Vydra, Long, Anelka, Morrison, Popov, Dawson, Reid, Sinclair, Gera, Rosenberg.

West Ham United

Defender James Collins is a major doubt for the Hammers after suffering a calf injury during the 3-1 defeat against Arsenal.

Ravel Morrison (groin) is likely to join Andy Carroll (foot), Ricardo Vaz Te (shoulder), Stewart Downing (ankle) and Winston Reid (ankle) on the sidelines.

Squad from: TBC

QUOTES

Baggies' stand-in boss Keith Downing:

"West Ham is always going to be a difficult game whatever we did at Spurs. We know what West Ham are like, their strengths, and I’m sure Big Sam will have them charged up. It’s a big game.

“We’ve never shied away from the position we’re in. We’re trying to get as many points as we can and pave the way for the new man. The good thing about it is the new man has probably seen 18 to 20 players now in the last two or three games so that will be good for him to get an insight into what he’s taking over.

“Two games is hard - but in less than two days is really difficult - and after playing on a heavy pitch yesterday. It’s going to be a test. But we’ve utilised the squad and we’ll get a fresh XI ready to go for the game at West Ham.”

www.wba.co.uk

West Ham boss Sam Allardyce:

"Every game is important to us, and it will be the same for West Brom. We have played 18 games and taken 14 points, so we have to get out of the position we are in and not let that gap between games played and points get any bigger.

"To try and get in the changing room at full-time on Saturday with 17 points after 19 games still won't be good enough but it will be a start because we need to get more points than games as quickly as we can."

www.whufc.com

MATCH ODDS

Result

Albion Win: 11/5, West Ham United Win: 7/5, Draw: 2/1.

First Goalscorer

Albion: Anelka 7/1, Long 7/1, Anichebe 8/1, Sessegnon 9/1, Berahino 10/1, Vydra 11/1, Sinclair 12/1, Morrison 14/1, Gera 14/1, Brunt 14/1, Amalfitano 16/1, Mulumbu 16/1, McAuley 20/1, Yacob 25/1, Dawson 25/1, Jones 25/1, Lugano 33/1, Olsson 33/1.

West Ham United: Carroll 11/2, Cole 11/2, Petric 6/1, Maiga 6/1, Morrison 7/1, Cole 8/1, Vaz Te 8/1, Jarvis 9/1, Diame 9/1, Collison 14/1, Noble 14/1, Taylor 20/1, Tomkins 25/1, Diarra 33/1, Collins 33/1, Rat 33/1.

www.williamhill.com

REFEREE

Mike Dean (Wirral)

Dean last took charge of an Albion game in September for the Baggies' 2-0 defeat at home to Swansea City.

The Wirral official took charge of four Albion games last season - the 1-1 draw at Tottenham in August, the 4-2 win over Sunderland at the Stadium of Light in November, the 2-1 New Year's Day defeat at home to Fulham and the 0-0 draw at Stoke in March.

The last West Ham game Dean refereed was the 4-2 win against Reading at Upton Park in May.

Dean has issued 51 yellow and three red cards in the 16 games he has officiated so far this season.

TICKET INFORMATION

Tickets for the game are no longer available to away supporters.

WEATHER FORECAST

Sunny spells, 8°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, Leroy Rosenior hitting four of the hosts' goals in that game.

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

The Baggies' last win at Upton Park came in November 2003, Gary Megson's men winning a thrilling game 4-3 after being 3-0 down.

MATCH HIGHLIGHTS

(Click on game to view)

Saturday 13 September 2008 - Albion 3-2 West Ham United - Premier League - The Hawthorns
Saturday 8 November 2003 - West Ham United 3-4 Albion - League Division One - Upton Park
Saturday 2 January 1993 - Albion 0-2 West Ham United - FA Cup 3rd Round - The Hawthorns
Saturday 1 December 1990 - West Ham United 3-1 Albion - Second Division - Upton Park
Saturday 3 May 1986 - Albion 2-3 West Ham United - First Division - The Hawthorns
Tuesday 8 January 1980 - West Ham United 2-1 Albion - FA Cup 3rd Round Replay - Upton Park
Saturday 12 November 1977 - West Ham United 3-3 Albion - First Division - Upton Park
Wednesday 23 March 1966 - Albion 4-1 West Ham United - League Cup Final 2nd Leg - The Hawthorns

LAST LEAGUE MEETING AT UPTON PARK

West Ham United 3-1 Albion
Barclays Premier League
Saturday 30 March 2013, 3:00pm

West Ham United: Jaaskelainen; Demel (McCartney 79), Reid, Collins, O’Brien; O’Neil, Nolan (c) (Taylor 69), Diame (Collison 82), Jarvis; Carroll, Vaz Te. Subs not used: Henderson (gk), Tomkins, C Cole, Chamakh.

Goalscorers: Carroll 16 & 80, O'Neil 28

Booked: Reid 78 (handball)

Albion: Foster; Jones, McAuley, Olsson, Ridgewell; Dorrans (Fortune 88), Yacob (Odemwingie 71), Mulumbu, Brunt (c); Lukaku, Long (Rosenberg 71). Subs not used: Myhill (gk), Thomas, Popov, Tamas.

Goalscorer: Dorrans 88 (penalty)

Sent-Off: Mulumbu 90+5 (unsporting behaviour)

Booked: Long 67 (foul)

Attendance: 34,966

Referee: Andre Marriner (West Midlands)

Andy Carroll gave Roy Hodgson a timely reminder of his talents as he inspired West Ham to an impressive win which eased any lingering hopes of relegation at Upton Park. Carroll has endured a difficult time in east London since he arrived on loan from Liverpool last summer, but on Saturday he battered West Brom's ailing defence in to submission. Carroll was not in Hodgson's party for England's trip to Montenegro on Tuesday where the Three Lions struggled to hold on to the ball and failed to take their chances. And on this evidence, Hodgson will surely considering recalling Carroll for this summer's friendlies against the Republic of Ireland and Brazil. The towering striker brushed off his marker and thumped a header past Ben Foster to put the Hammers ahead and then powered home a well-taken volley after Gary O'Neil had made it 2-0. Carroll had been the butt of criticism from Sam Allardyce in midweek for his lack of goals, but the way he toyed with the Baggies back line, and the way he took his fourth and fifth goals for the club, may force his manager to push through plans to keep the striker beyond the end of the season.

West Ham were good value for their victory, with Kevin Nolan, Mohamed Diame and O'Neil all impressing to move the Hammers on to 36 points - two short of the figure Allardyce thinks his team will need to avoid the drop. Allardyce, who this week said he will sign a new contract when he reaches that 38-point mark, watched his team totally dominate the Baggies on Saturday, with the visitors' only consolation coming through Graham Dorrans' penalty at the death. Youssof Mulumbu saw red in the dying seconds for needlessly booting the ball at O'Neil.

A Hammers victory did not look on the cards in the early stages as West Brom came flying out of the blocks on biting cold afternoon in east London. Dorrans raced up field after an errant pass from Ricardo Vaz Te and aimed a dipping shot at goal, which Jussi Jaaseklainen almost spilled in to his own net. West Brom had the ball in the net from the resulting corner but Gareth McAuley's header was ruled out for bundling over Jaaseklainen. The Finn then pulled off a fantastic one-handed save to deny Romelu Lukaku's deflected free-kick as West Ham's defence continued to creek. Carroll then began to exert his influence on the game and West Ham all of a sudden looked far more threatening. He brushed his marker off the ball to set up Vaz Te, but the Portuguese wastefully blasted over. The England striker then broke the deadlock after 16 minutes, rising above the Jonas Olsson to thump O'Neill's corner past a stunned Foster. The 6ft 3in targetman was in the thick of the action moments later, nodding James Collins' long punt in to path of Matt Jarvis, but he shot over from eight yards. West Ham continued to pile on the pressure and their dominance paid off with O'Neil's goal just before the half hour. Vaz Te charged at the West Brom defence before laying the ball off to O'Neil, who clipped the ball over a diving Olsson and Foster to make it 2-0. The Hammers thought they should have had a penalty just before the break when Jarvis went down in the box under a challenge from Billy Jones, but Andre Marriner waved play on.

West Brom played much better after the restart, with Lukaku looking the most likely to score. The bustling Belgian shrugged O'Neil off the ball as he cantered towards goal, but his fierce drive sailed a foot over the angle. West Ham steadied themselves and they were soon back on the attack through Carroll. The loanee took the ball down on his thigh after a good passing move involving O'Neil and Kevin Nolan, but Baggies defender Liam Ridgewell hooked the ball clear before Carroll could pull the trigger. Mulumbu thought he should have had a penalty as he tangled with Collins, but referee Andre Marriner was not interested. Substitute Peter Odemwingie provided West Brom with more energy when he came on, but Carroll put the game beyond doubt with a marvellous volley which he dispatched past Foster from Collins' long ball. West Brom pulled one back three minutes from the end when Dorrans beat Jaaseklainen after Matt Taylor tangled with Lukaku in the box. Mulumbu ensured West Brom's afternoon ended on a low, though, when he picked the ball up after becoming annoyed at not being awarded a foul and stupidly blasted the ball at O'Neill's back. Marriner had no choice but to show him red. A late injury to George McCartney, who had just returned from a four-month lay-off, failed to dampen the spirits of the Hammers fans, who greeted the final whistle with a loud cheer.

Sporting Life

CURRENT CONNECTIONS

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

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; Former Baggies' boss Steve Clarke was assistant manager to Gianfranco Zola at United for two seasons between 2008 and 2010; Assistant head coach at The Hawthorns to Clarke, 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.

ALL-TIME LEAGUE & CUP RECORD VS WEST HAM UNITED

 VENUE P W D  L F A
 Home 46 23 11 12 84 53
 Away 48 14 9 25 68 98
 Total 94 37 20 37 152 151

LAST TEN MATCHES AGAINST WEST HAM UNITED

DATE COMPETITION H/A F-A GOALSCORERS   GATE
Sat 30 Mar 2013 Premier League A 1-3 Dorrans (pen) - Carroll 2, O'Neil  34,966
Sun 16 Dec 2012 Premier League H 0-0    24,816
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
 
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