West Ham United v Derby County
After being thoroughly depressed by the annual gloom that appears to engulf Albert Square on Christmas Day, West Ham fans can then cheer themselves up by trudging off to Upton Park 24 hours later for a feast of football.
Derby are the visitors and they will be hoping to get off to a more solid start than in the corresponding fixture last season. With just seven minutes on the clock goalkeeper Mart Poom had been beaten twice and by half-time it was 3-0. Clean sheets are proving hard to come by for Colin Todd's team of late and they have kept just two of their last 14 opponents at bay.
But then West Ham hardly boast the most stringent defence in the top flight and can boast only two shut outs in their last 11 outings. So if it's goals that the punters want then this may be the game that produces them.
However, Derby will have to continue the improvement they showed in front of goal against Aston Villa. Before that game they boasted the joint worst strikeforce in the Premiership. Benito Carbone and Malcolm Christie netted goals against Villa, with Fabrizio Ravanelli also scoring.
The enigmatic Italian has accounted for 57% of the Rams' successful strikes this season and his influence on the pitch is obvious. He has landed twice as many shots on target than his nearest challenger at the club, Deon Burton, and could be an invaluable source of firing power in the East End. Notably the visitors have attained a superior shooting accuracy to that of the home side.
While both teams have achieved an identical passing success rate, Glenn Roeder's team have been far more accurate from the flanks, picking out a claret-and-blue shirt with 24% of their crosses - five percentage points better Derby.
Last season the Ram's managed to net a consolation goal in the second half, but never managed to recover from the early double blow. On current form it might be worth a flutter on history repeating itself with West Ham rated at 11/1 to emerge 3-1 victors.
Mark Willis
Match referee: G. Poll
Graham Poll takes charge of his first game since the highly charged Arsenal v Newcastle game at Highbury. That night Thierry Henry was so incensed with Poll's decision to award a penalty against Sol Campbell that he gave the official a tirade of verbal abuse as he left the field. Since the start of last season, Poll has issued 14 red cards - more than any other top-flight ref.
Referee's Name FoulsPenaltiesYellow CardsRed CardsAve
Disc pointsG. Poll 346 4 29 4 42.64
PLAYER HEAD-TO-HEAD
click below for in-depth comparisonCole v Carbone
TEAM NEWS
West Ham boss Glenn Roeder will givea late test to striker Frederic Kanoute who missed the 1-1 draw at Leicester with a thigh injury.
Derby's Benito Carbone is expected to retain his place in midfield after an impressive display in the 3-1 win against Aston Villa. Skipper Darryl Powell will have a late test after missing the Villa win with a head injury, with Paul Boertien, who also featured against Villa, is on standby.
MATCH BETTING
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Match Result West Ham8/11Draw9/4Derby10/3Double Result West Ham/West Ham7/4West Ham/Draw16/1West Ham/Derby40/1Draw/West Ham7/2Draw/Draw7/2Draw/Derby8/1Derby/West Ham25/1Derby/Draw16/1Derby/Derby15/2Correct Score West Ham 1-06/1West Ham 2-013/2West Ham 2-17/1West Ham 3-011/1West Ham 3-111/1West Ham 3-225/1West Ham 4-033/1West Ham 4-128/1West Ham 4-250/1West Ham 5-080/1West Ham 5-166/1West Ham 6-0100/1West Ham 6-1100/1Draw 0-08/1Draw 1-111/2Draw 2-214/1Draw 3-350/1Derby 1-09/1Derby 2-020/1Derby 2-114/1Derby 3-050/1Derby 3-140/1Derby 3-240/1Derby 4-0100/1Derby 4-1100/1Derby 4-2100/1First Goalscorer F Kanoute5/1J Defoe5/1P Di Canio11/2P Kitson6/1D Hutchison9/1T Sinclair12/1J Cole12/1M Carrick14/1Courtois16/1S Moncur20/1H Foxe33/1T Repka33/1S Minto33/1S Schmemel33/1C Dailly40/1S Potts50/1N Winterburn50/1No Goalscorer8/1F Ravanelli13/2B Carbone7/1M Christie7/1D Burton8/1L Morris9/1G Kinkladze20/1P Ducrocq20/1A Bolder25/1P Boertien25/1C Riggott33/1D Higginbotham33/1S Valakari33/1D Powell33/1H Carbonari33/1L Zavagno40/1F Grenet40/1Y Mawene50/1S Elliott66/1
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By Road:
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