Hull v West Ham
Saturday 1 April, 15:00

Hull


Hull are still trading at big odds-on to go down but there's an argument to be made that if Marco Silva wasn't in the home dugout, they'd be long gone.

Quite simply, the Portuguese boss has forgotten what's it like to lose a home match.

In three years (38 games) in charge of Estoril, Sporting, Olympiakos and now Hull, he hasn't had to bow his head in defeat once when exiting down the tunnel.

That he's kept that superb record going at struggling Hull is hugely impressive. His home games since taking charge at the Kcom have been against Bournemouth, Liverpool, Burnley and Swansea and he's guided Hull to 10 points out of a possible 12 in those matches.

Add in Cup wins against Swansea and Manchester United and Silva's home record in English football is five wins and a draw from six matches.

By anyone's standards, that's excellent; as he's working with one of the division's poorest squads, it's coaching of the highest order.

West Ham

Slaven Bilic also knows a thing or two about punching above your weight and took West Ham to seventh (one spot above Liverpool) last term.

The difficult second season syndrome seemed to be kicking in earlier this term and many chairmen would have panicked and given him the boot before the Croatian had time to steady the ship.

But he's done just that by taking West Ham into mid-table although third-bottom Hull would close the gap on the Hammers to six points with a win here. It's probably not right, therefore, to think that the visitors are on the beach just yet.

However, their form is a worry and two points from the last 15, including three straight defeats, has caused some unease and West Ham's defensive problems have returned big time with the concession of 16 goals in their last seven games.

They'll also have to do without top scorer Michail Antonio for Saturday's trip after Bilic revealed the England man wouldn't recover in time.

Match Odds

Hull are 2.54 to give Silva another home victory while West Ham are 3.10 to return to London with all three points. A draw is the outsider of the three at 3.45.

West Ham have won four, drawn three and lost seven of their away games so that's a 50% loss rate away from home. They've also conceded more goals on the road (25) than rock-bottom Sunderland.

Hull's home record is 5-4-5 but, obviously, it's taken a sharp upward turn under Silva.

This looks an obvious chance for him to extend it and Hull are the bet to bank three vital points.

Both Teams To Score

For all the good stuff, the new Hull boss hasn't been able to plug the leaks at the back and, since starting with a clean sheet against Swansea, Silva has watched his side concede in 10 of their last 12 matches.

BTTS has landed in West Ham's last six matches and their goal make-ups in those games read 4-4-2-3-5-5.

Predictably, given those numbers, Both Teams To Score is considered more likely than not with 'Yes' on offer at 1.72 and 'No' 2.28.

To Score

Hull's top scorer in the Premier League this season actually plays for West Ham.

Robert Snodgrass banged in seven goals before his January move but in a West Ham shirt he's yet to get off the mark.

Fans of 'putting one over his old team' can get 3.60 that the Scot finally nets for his new club.

Ref watch

Mike Jones heads to the Capital of Culture to take charge of this one. The Chester official averages under four bookings per game (97 in 25 matches) while he's flashed four red cards this season, although just one in his 15 Premier League games.

He booked six players (just two from Hull) in an action-packed 3-3 draw against Crystal Palace on his last trip to the Kcom in December while he showed five yellows in Hull's 0-0 draw at Man Utd.

Bilic won't associate him with anything good given that his one game in charge of West Ham resulted in a 4-1 loss at Old Trafford, although he only booked one Hammer.

Opta stat

Hull City have never lost a home Premier League match against the Hammers (W2 D2).

Recommended Bet

Back Hull @ 2.54 v West Ham


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