UK Football

photo: Keven Law

As you know, Dean Ashton will not be present for this fixture, and that will be a huge blow to Zola’s men.  Despite a year that’s seen West Ham perform reasonably well.  They can’t forget that they will be facing off against a confident Hull City side, at home, going for their third straight Premiership victory.  Pretty amazing considering this is Hull’s first crack at England’s top competition.   Even more amazing was Hull’s spot on the table going into this weekend, third in the league, despite having a negative goal difference.

But that’s the amazing story to date about Phil Brown’s men, they keep winning matches when it seems they really shouldn’t.  We’ll all remember the upset against Arsenal for some time to come, the heroic performance of Geovanni would be hard to burn from memory.  And even Tottenham would count as an upset, despite their horrid start to the season, because it’s a match on paper Tottenham had the talent and ability to win, and win with ease.

But that’s the amazing factor of Phil Brown’s men, they get by without the talent of brilliant movement on the ball, or without major star power to carry the team.  But instead Brown has his men sticking to the basics, pick your passes smartly, and never shun defensive responsibility.  A simple tactic set that West Ham should be wary of.

Not to mention the fact that Hull City has been victorious against all London opposition so far this year, felling Fulham, Arsenal, and Tottenham.

West Ham are playing better than expected without Ashton, and under the tutelage of Zola.  But I don’t expect they will be able to combat the aura surrounding Hull at the moment.

The momentum may be shifted in Hull’s favor for this one, considering Hull has got off to the best start of a promoted team since 1994.  And West Ham have the dubious distinction of being a club on the longest current run of matches without a clean sheet, numbering 19 going into the match today.

Look for West Ham to put up a fight, but for Hull City to wear them down because of the incredible discipline Phil Brown can instill upon his men.

Prediction:  Hull 2-1 West Ham

Trackback URI | Comments RSS