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Club Focus – West Ham – Hammers set for tough London derby clash
West Ham face London rivals Chelsea this weekend with Manager Avram Grant in desperate need of a win after a disastrous start to their league campaign. The Hammers have conceded nine goals in their opening three matches, while their opponents on Saturday have scored 14 goals and conceded none. It promises to be a tough afternoon for Grant’s side, with a free-flowing attack against a leaky defence, there will surely be only one result.
The Irons can take heart from their previous encounter at Upton Park, which ended in a 1-1 draw. Alessandro Diamanti, who moved to Brescia this summer, scored a penalty on the stroke of half time but former Hammer Frank Lampard equalised with a penalty of his own. They have not beaten Chelsea since 2003 when Trevor Brooking, who was caretaker manager at the time, led his side to a 1-0 win thanks to a Paolo Di Canio strike. If the Hammers are to get anything from Saturday’s game, they will need to firing on all cylinders, organised at the back and take the odd chance they get in front of goal. They will be underdogs heading into the match but if they manage to nick a victory, it would certainly do the manager a massive confidence boost. German midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger looks likely to miss the match as he is still struggling with the thigh injury he picked up on international duty in August. It will be interesting to see how Grant sets his side up, as in his home games he has opted for a 4-4-2 formation. However, with his out of form side facing Chelsea, he may choose to pack the midfield and play Carlton Cole as the lone striker, with Pablo Barrera and Kieron Dyer positioned on the left and right wing. Daniel Gabbidon is expected to keep his place alongside Matthew Upson in the centre of defence, but the right-back position will be vacated if Julien Faubert is once again pushed forward into the midfield.
Avram Grant has certainly not made the best of starts to his managerial career at the Boleyn Ground and various newspapers have been speculating as to whether Grant would remain in the job for much longer. However, co-owner David Sullivan has dismissed claims that there could be a change of manager. Speaking to the English media he said: "Nobody is pressing any panic buttons and reports to the contrary are rubbish. We are building a new team under a new manager and transition is a tough time but game by game, I anticipate an improvement over the coming months.”
The next three games are hugely important for Grant and it could define whether he will be a success or not. After the Chelsea game, they face Stoke City away, Sunderland away in the League Cup followed by another London derby at home against Tottenham Hotspur. Judging by their current form, the next run of fixtures will prove tricky and no guarantee they will come out of them with any points. Six games and no points registered would be disastrous but a strong possibility.
West Ham made two additions to their squad on transfer deadline day, with right-back Lars Jacobsen joining from Blackburn Rovers and goalkeeper Ruud Boffin arrives from Dutch club MVV Maastricht. The Belgian will provide back up for Robert Green, where as Jacobsen will provide competition for the defence. The former Rovers defender played in all of Denmark’s World Cup group games, where they failed to progress from the group stage. More importantly for Grant, he managed to keep several key players at the club. Despite a late bid from Liverpool, Carlton Cole remains in East London for the time being, but if the Merseyside outfit had made a bid earlier during the summer, he may well have made the switch. The owners stated every player in the squad has his price, apart from vice-captain Scott Parker. One player who departed East London is Fabio Daprela, who joins up with former Hammer Diamanti at Brescia. Grant has made eight additions to his squad over the summer and now is the time for him to start producing results with his new squad.
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