English Premier League – Match Preview: Wolverhampton Wanderers versus West Ham United
Wolves host West Ham in their eighth league match of the season as both the teams look to climb out of the bottom three on 16th October, 2010. There is still substantial time till the end of the season but these teams have shown already that their
lack of quality probably means that they will be a part of a bigger relegation battle this season. With teams like Liverpool also languishing in the relegation zone at the moment, Wolverhampton and West Ham will see this match as their best bet to get out
of the danger zone. Mick McCarthy’s Wolverhampton team has come under severe criticism recently for their overtly aggressive approach to their English league matches.
As a result of all the media hype and all the news that has surrounded their tactics to physically intimidate their opponents, Wolverhampton’s captain Karl Henry was sent off in their last league match against Wigan Athletic. Karl’s sending off has been
discussing in many media quarters in the past two weeks and it has been described as a lesson in disguise for his teammates as well that the modern game has evolved to a standard where any studs up challenges or knee high tackles are seen as nothing short
of criminal. Wolverhampton’s season got off to a reasonably decent start but their form of late has been terrible as they have lost four and won one out of their last five matches in the league.
On the other hand, West Ham got off to the most embarrassing of starts but they have picked themselves up as they have won two, drawn two and lost one out of their last five matches in the English Premier League. West Ham got their season off with a humiliating
loss at Villa Park to Aston Villa by 4-0. After that, they succumbed to an average Bolton Wanderers side at Upton Park as the final score line of the match read 3-1. After conceding seven goals in their opening two matches of the English Premier League, West
Ham let in a further three as they lost 3-0 at Old Trafford to Manchester United.
After the loss to Manchester United, West Ham hosted their local rivals Chelsea but failed to impress yet again as they lost by 3-1 to Carlo Ancelotti’s team. However, West Ham got their first point of the season as they held Stoke City to a 1-1 draw at
the Britannia Stadium and then managed to get their first win of the season when they defeated Tottenham Hotspurs at Upton Park thanks to a nicely taken goal by the Frenchman Frederic Piquionne. In their latest English Premier League match, West Ham only managed
to secure a single point as they drew 1-1 with Fulham F.C at their home ground.
For the Wolves, the past three weeks have been nothing short of a nightmare in the English league, Mick McCarthy’s team lost their last match in the English Premier League to Wigan Athletic by 2-0. That loss to Wigan was preceded by three consecutive losses
in the Premier League to Fulham, Tottenham Hotspurs and Aston Villa. Currently ranked 19th in the league table, the match against West Ham has now turned into a must win for the Wolves. For West Ham, the match holds equal importance as they are
currently the 20th ranked team out of the 20 teams that are participating in the on-going 2010/2011 league season.
Wolves will be hoping that Steven Fletcher can add to his two goals of the season against West Ham while the Hammers will be putting their trust in their midfield enforcer Scott Parker. Parker is West Ham’s highest goal scorer this season with two goals
in seven matches in the English Premier League.
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