The battle to avoid English Premier League’s relegation trapdoor heats up when Wolves visit West Ham on Saturday.
But while the duo is mired in the drop zone, both sides go into the game with a fresh injection of confidence after some positive results over the Christmas period.
West Ham briefly jumped off the bottom of the table after their 1-1 draw with Everton at Upton Park on Tuesday, only for Wolves to send them back to the basement courtesy of their 1-0 victory over Liverpool the next day.
Nonetheless, West Ham have earned five valuable points from their last three games after all seemed lost, and will back themselves to perform in front of their home crowd on Saturday.
Carlton Cole hit a double in the Hammers’ 3-1 win over London rivals Fulham on December 26 and will greatly improve his side’s chances of staying up this season if he can get on some sort of scoring run.
There are no new injury concerns for West Ham manager Avram Grant to contend with, with his side perhaps benefiting from having one extra day of rest on their opponents.
But Wolves will be brimming with confidence after the surprise triumph over Liverpool, and manager Mick McCarthy may resist making wholesale changes to the line-up even despite the three-day turnaround.
Midfielder David Jones and striker Steven Fletcher may be first in line if he does decide to tinker with the starting XI, while Kevin Doyle, Jody Craddock and Michael Mancienne could make returns from injury.
A win to either side could see them escape the bottom three, lending the encounter plenty of importance.
Thu 30 December, 2010
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