EPL Preview: West Ham in Search of 3rd Consecutive League Victory

Tottenham vs West Ham

The Premier League this weekend will start with Tottenham entertaining neighbours West Ham at the White Hart Lane, hoping to pick up some points that will follow up with their challenge for the Champions League places. Their bid to upset Chelsea and qualify for Europe has taken the turn for the worst in the last few weeks, with poor results against Blackpool and Wolverhampton massively contributing to the downturn in form.

Harry Redknapp will definitely be aware of the three-point gap that exists between Spurs and Chelsea. If they were to drop any more points against West Ham, then the advantage will definitely shift towards Chelsea, which will be something that Redknapp will be hoping to avoid.

However, West Ham will be providing a stern opposition for Tottenham, having just beaten Liverpool and Stoke in the league. It was the sort of results that lifted it from the bottom of the table to just one point of the relative position of safety.

The "Hammers" will be looking to start the great escape in the game against Tottenham, but they will be without Robbie Keane, who is ineligible to play. Spurs will be missing a number of central defenders including Ledley King.

Aston Villa vs Wolverhampton

Aston Villa has been on a wretched run of form ever since Darren Bent's goals started drying up. They are now staring-down relegation, even though they are in the 13th position in the table. Such is the incredibly compact nature of the table that Aston Villa will be finding itself near the bottom of the table if they lose yet again against Wolverhampton.

If there is any team in the Premier League that is highly inconsistent, then it has to be Wolverhampton, after they have showed extremely mixed results in the last few weeks. Even though they have beaten Manchester United and Blackpool quite convincingly, they have also lost and drawn a number of matches. This means that they find themselves stuck into the relegation zone.

However, Wolverhampton can climb out of the bottom three with a victory over Aston Villa, and Mick McCarthy will be mindful of the fact. If Villa loses against Wolves, then it would be three consecutive defeats in a row, which will definitely put a lot of pressure on Gerrard Houllier. He will be without the services of Richard Dunne and Carlos Cuellar for the match, while Mick McCarthy will be without Stephen Hunt.

Blackburn vs Blackpool

If there is any team that is worthy of being relegated at the moment, then it has to be, without doubt, Blackburn. Blackburn has failed to keep up with the fine start that was followed after the appointment of Steve Kean.

The team has failed to win any of its last five matches and compounding that will be the fact that they have taken just one point out of the last five matches. It is close to relegation form and they are just about surviving in the 14th position, due to the early season points.

However, looking closely, they are just one point ahead of the drop zone, which will be putting massive concern on Steve Kean's future.

Blackpool, on the other hand, has been decent in the last few matches, although Ian Holloway will still be concerned about the slide down the table. They are just one point ahead of West Ham in the 18th position. The absence of a number of players, including the likes of Gary Taylor-Fletcher and Chris Basham are expected to add to his troubles. Blackburn will be without Phil Jones, who is the only injury problem for Steve Kean.

Man Utd. vs Bolton

The recent victories over Arsenal and Marseille might be in two different cup competitions, but they have certainly removed any doubts over Man United's capability to win the title this season. After the defeats against Chelsea and Liverpool, United looked a little bit wobbly, but the recent victories will be removing any impending doubts.

It would, however, has to once again create the invisible feeling in the league, which has definitely vanished since the defeats. Manchester United will be having a difficult task ahead of them against Bolton, especially given that Alex Ferguson will not be present in the dugout. It will be a major boost for Owen Coyle given that it will be putting less pressure on the referees.

However, he is not likely to be relying on the referees given that his side has been excellent in the last few weeks. Apart from the dropped points against Newcastle, they have won every single match in the last five without exception. Bolton will be without Sam Ricketts for the match, while Manchester United is suffering from injuries to Rio Ferdinand, Anderson and Park Ji Sung.

Stoke vs Newcastle

Stoke claimed the revenge for the heavy defeat in the league at the hands of West Ham by beating the London side in the FA Cup. However, it does not mean that they have secured three points in the league, which will be something that Tony Pulis will be seeking against Newcastle.

Stoke have a very good record at the Britannia Stadium and coupled with the fact that Newcastle will be travelling following a defeat means that Tony Pulis will have every reason to be confident about his team.

The away victory over Birmingham a few weeks ago will be the boost for Alan Pardew, whose side have suffered after the January transfer window. Even though their form slightly improved, it is far from the form that they are capable of displaying. With just one victory in the last five matches, Alan Pardew will be hoping to get a victory over tough opponents Stoke.

Newcastle does not have any new injury worries, while Stoke will be without Sidibé for the match. Stoke will be looking to leapfrog ahead of Newcastle, as only two points separate them in the standings. More dropped points will surely push Newcastle into the bottom half of the table.

West Brom vs Arsenal

Arsenal will be in a state of misery after having been dumped out of two important cup competitions in the space of a few days. Firstly, there was the loss against Barcelona and it was immediately followed up with the exit from the FA Cup at the hands of Manchester United.

It will be, without doubt, making them concentrate in the league, which will be bad news for West Brom. However, the fact that they has just secured their first win under new manager Roy Hodgson and the fact that it is at home will make the Baggies quietly confident.

They could make Arsenal suffer even more with victory that would further dampen their hopes of winning the title. West Brom is definitely better than Arsenal in the form table, after having at least suffered their only defeat more than a month ago to Man City.

It is definitely not the case with Arsenal, which have just one victory in their last five matches. To further compound the misery, Arsene Wenger will be without a number of players including Fabregas, Walcott, Fabianski and Alex Song. Roy Hodgson does not have any major injuries to worry about.

Wigan vs Birmingham

Wigan will be hoping to snap up their run of three consecutive defeats in the league with victory over fellow strugglers Birmingham. Wigan has been extremely poor this season and it is not going to be depicted well then by the form table of the team. Their last Premier League victory was more than a month ago against Blackburn and since then they have taken just one point.

It is the kind of run that puts any team under relegation threat and Wigan seem to be no exception to the fact. They are now rooted in the bottom of the table, although they are going to take only five points for safety.

Birmingham is on the edge of the relegation zone and Alex McLeish will be looking to avoid getting into the drop zone. However, their form suggests otherwise and apart from the impressive victory over Arsenal, they have nothing to show for in their last five matches. They will be without Scott Dann for the match against Wigan, while Enric Vallés will also be missing. However, Wigan does not have any problems, at least, on the injury front. They have a full-strength squad to name against Birmingham.

Everton vs Fulham

Everton will be keen to build on their home form, which has definitely not been great this season. They have not won in their home ground for nearly a month and David Moyes will be hoping to finally provide some cheer for the home fans against Fulham.

Fulham used to struggle away from home, but they have been quite good in the last few weeks. The defeat at the hands of Bolton is the only blemish in an otherwise perfect record for Mark Hughes in the last few weeks. This situation has definitely improved from the bleak situation earlier in the season.

It is also the same case with Everton, which has moved into the top half of the table following an impressive run of victories over Sunderland and Newcastle recently. They will be on the watch out for Fulham, which is just two points behind Everton in the league. There could be no better motivation for Mark Hughes and he will be looking to motivate his side with this fact. He will be, however, without the likes of Philippe Senderos and Steve Sidwell. David Moyes will be missing the impressive duo of Tim Cahill and Marouane Fellaini.

Joe - livescoredaily.com - live scores