The Hammers travel to the Stadium of Light in the 11th round of Premier League action this Saturday.
West Ham certainly have the upper hand in terms of head-to-head match history. They have beaten the Black Cats 7 of the last ten, and losing only 3 times. However,
Sunderland have been in rare form with the acquisition of striker
Darren Bent. In their first 10 games,
Bent has scored 8 times and shows no signs of slowing. In their last home match,
Bent scored the only goal of the match that gave the outmatched Black Cats a victory over top club
Liverpool FC. They have only 2 injuries for Saturday: Midfielder
Lee Cattermole and defender
John Mensah. Their last match was a 0-0 Carling Cup loss to
Aston Villa, who finally brought the match down to penalties.
West Ham have been almost unrecognizable this season in terms of points. While watching them play it is clear that they have quality in the likes of
Carlton Cole who has scored 5 times in 9 appearances. However, this has not translated into very many points as they have only managed 6 and are second from the bottom of the Premier League Table. Manager
Gianfranco Zola has a few more injuries to worry about:
Davenport, Dyer, Boa Morte, and
Ashton will all be unavailable for this weekend's fixture.
West Ham have only won 1 match this season against Wolverhampton Wanderers and they will try to correct that while travelling to an in-form
Sunderland squad this Saturday.
Head-to-head history certainly favors
West Ham but recently
Sunderland have been playing well and scoring goals. With a 4-1-0 home record, expect the Black Cats to record another victory here.
Sunderland vs. West Ham
Saturday October 31, 2009
Kickoff: 16:00 CET
Tip: Sunderland -0.25
Best Odds: 1.75 @ Bet365
