West Ham v Swansea Preview

After the disappointment of being drubbed 3-1 by Fulham, yet another disappointing performance on the road, West Ham United supporters will be hoping that some kind of recovery plan can be put into action when West Ham welcome Swansea City to Upton Park this Saturday. Can West Ham take the three points on offer to ease our fears, let`s wait and see shall we.

Our recent form has been worrying, to say the least, with only five points taken from the twenty-seven available. There are fears that despite our decent start to the season we could be sucked into a relegation fight.

However, our club captain, Kevin Nolan is confident that won`t happen, remarking to the media,

"We are in a fight, but we are not looking over our shoulders, we are looking ahead and we are still confident we can push for a top-10 finish."

"We know we have got the quality, but it`s just not going for us at the moment."

"I`m really confident we can turn things around. Our home form has been very good and we have a chance to put things right against Swansea."

Well it would be a good place to start.

Big Sam takes his side into this fixture debating whether to start with Andy Carroll or go with him, later on, from the bench.

However, Sam will be without three first team squad members with Dan Potts (concussion), James Collins (hamstring) and George McCartney (knee) all not available.

Although Carroll`s goal return for us has been pretty poor, you can`t argue his presence, in the front-line, gives us that something extra. Having come back from injury, as a substitute in the recent loss to Fulham, but will Big Sam risk starting with the on-loan striker?

Michael Laudrup brings his Swansea squad to East London with two key players out with ankle problems, in the shape of Neil Taylor and Kenny Agustien.

Also, having let Danny Graham leave, joining Sunderland on transfer deadline day, his striking options are a little more limited now.

Plucked out of Spanish football by Michael Laudrup, Michu has shown that he`s a classy operative and well worth the small fee that Swansea aid for him.

As for previous meetings between the two clubs, Swansea hold a 3-0 victory over us in our only ever Premier League clash, that result coming last August.

But the Welsh side haven`t won in their last visits to Upton Park, in all competitions, their last win coming way back in 1956.

The officials charged with keeping this one ticking along are;- Referee - L. Probert Assistants - G. Beswick and R. Ganfield Fourth Official - P. Dowd

I`ve got a good feeling about this one. I reckon it`s one of those days when Lady Luck will be on our side, unlike at Craven Cottage and that the bubble machine might see some use. I`m going for a Hammers win, 3-1!

Our next Premier League fixture is a week on Sunday (February 10th) when we travel to Villa Park to take on a beleaguered Aston Villa side.

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