BIRMINGHAM CITY v WEST HAM UNITED
npower CHAMPIONSHIP
MONDAY 26 DECEMBER 2011
KICK-OFF: 5.30PM
FULL AUDIO AND TEXT COMMENTARY - WEST HAM TV
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Introduction
• West Ham United travel to the Midlands on Boxing Day looking to build on the 1-0 defeat of Barnsley on 17 December that returned them to winning ways after their first back to back league defeats of the season.
• They are still the division's form team on the road with seven wins and two draws in their eleven away matches.
• The match marks the halfway point of the npower Championship season for the Hammers and a victory in their 23rd game would take them to 46 points - right on the 'two points a game' target set by the manager for promotion.
• The Hammers have not lost on Boxing Day since the 2-1 home defeat by Portsmouth in 2006. The run since has been a 1-1 draw at home to Reading (2007), a 4-1 win at Portsmouth (2008), a 2-0 home win against Portsmouth (2009) and a 4-1 win at Fulham (2010).
• Birmingham did not play on Boxing Day last year but have not lost on 26 December in the four previous seasons. They drew 0-0 in 2009 at home to Chelsea. In 2008, they won 1-0 away to Ipswich Town. In 2007, they won 3-0 at home to Middlesbrough. In 2006, they won 2-1 at home to Queens Park Rangers. Before that they lost 2-0 at Tottenham Hotspur in 2005.
• This is the 85th league meeting between the two sides. West Ham have won 27 and drawn 19 of the previous 84 contests.
• The teams met four times last season, with two of those encounters coming in the League Cup semi-finals. Birmingham triumphed 4-3 on aggregate and then won the final against Arsenal.
• Sam Allardyce's side sit second in the npower Championship table, just a point behind leaders Southampton and two points ahead of third-place Middlesbrough. Chris Hughton's Birmingham are 14 points behind the Hammers in 14th but do have two games in hand.
• Big Sam has taken charge of 12 matches against Birmingham in his career, winning five and losing six. Hughton has twice guided sides against the Hammers, winning one and losing one.
• West Ham United's 37 league goals have been shared between 14 different players. Carlton Cole leads the way with seven, Kevin Nolan has six while Sam Baldock has five.
Team news
West Ham United
• Joey O'Brien is in contention again after missing the Barnsley game through suspension.
• Robert Hall has been recalled from his loan at Oxford United, while Frank Nouble is also available after his three-month stay at Gillingham.
• West Ham United look set to again be without Matt Taylor (calf), Winston Reid (shoulder) and Sam Baldock (hamstring) although it is hoped at least one or two may return to face Derby County on New Year's Eve. Taylor has been to see a specialist in Germany this week.
• John Carew (back) and Julien Faubert (hamstring) are doubtful after limping off against Barnsley, while Abdoulaye Faye (calf) is also questionable after missing the match.
• Guy Demel faces a spell on the sidelines after tearing a thigh muscle at Reading.
• The suspended Jack Collison cannot play again until Coventry City visit on 2 January.
• Gary O'Neil (ankle) has played three times for the development squad this month but is still some time from a first-team return after eight months out.
Birmingham City
• Birmingham are without the suspended Curtis Davies after his fifth yellow card of the season last week at Crystal Palace. Jean Beausejour is also absent with a calf problem.
• Liam Ridgewell, a former Hammers trainee, is also absent with a thigh injury.
• Jordan Mutch is in contention after recovering from an ankle injury suffered just two games into the season.
• Morgaro Gomis, a compatriot of the Hammers' Senegalese duo of Abdoulaye Faye and Papa Bouba Diop, is also in line for the squad after 12 matches out with a groin injury
Last time out
Saturday 17 December 2011
npower Championship
West Ham United 1-0 Barnsley
West Ham United: Green, Faubert (Lansbury 67), Tomkins, McCartney, Potts, Noble, Bouba Diop, Nolan, Piquionne, Carew (Sears 56), Cole
Subs not used: Stech, Driver
Goal: Bouba Diop 6
Monday 19 December 2011
npower Championship
Crystal Palace 1-0 Birmingham City
Birmingham City: Myhill, Carr, Murphy, Caldwell, Spector, Davies, Burke, 'Daw (Elliott 81), Fahey, Redmond (Wood 83), King (Zigic 70)
Subs not used: Doyle, Pablo
Ten-year league records
West Ham United
2010/11 Premier League 20th (33 points)
2009/10 Premier League 17th (35 points)
2008/09 Premier League 9th (51 points)
2007/08 Premier League 10th (49 points)
2006/07 Premier League 15th (41 points)
2005/06 Premier League 9th (55 points)
2004/05 Championship 6th (73 points - promoted to Premier League via play-offs)
2003/04 Championship 4th (74 points)
2002/03 Premier League 18th (42 points - relegated to Championship)
2001/02 Premier League 7th (53 points)
Birmingham City
2010/11 Premier League 18th (39 points)
2009/10 Premier League 9th (50 points)
2008/09 Championship 2nd (83 points - promoted to Premier League)
2007/08 Premier League 19th (35 points - relegated to Championship)
2006/07 Championship 2nd (86 points - promoted to Premier League)
2005/06 Premier League 18th (34 points - relegated to Championship)
2004/05 Premier League 12th (45 points)
2003/04 Premier League 10th (50 points)
2002/03 Premier League 13th (48 points)
2001/02 Championship 5th (76 points - promoted to Premier League via play-offs)
Referee
• Monday's referee will be Darren Deadman
• Darren Deadman will be taking charge of only his second Hammers first-team game after taking charge of the 1-0 defeat at Southampton on 18 October this season.
• His biggest match to date was the League Two play-off final last May when he took charge of Stevenage's 1-0 defeat of Torquay United at Old Trafford.
• He has been a fourth official in the Premier League.
Us and them
• Stratford-born Chris Hughton spent two years between 1990 and 1992 as a left-back with West Ham, making 43 appearances in all competitions including the 1991 FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest.
• Jonathan Spector signed a two-year deal with Birmingham in August 2011 after his five-year association with the Hammers ended. He made 101 league appearances for West Ham, scoring two goals.
• David Bentley spent the second half of last season on loan at Birmingham. A season-long stay at West Ham this campaign was cut short by a serious knee injury after only five matches.
• Liam Ridgewell started off life in the West Ham United Academy before moving to Aston Villa in February 2001.
• Among the other players who have represented both clubs are Lee Bowyer, Alan Curbishley, Jimmy Bloomfield, Kenny Brown, Julian Dicks, Eamonn Dolan, Harry Hooper, David Kelly, Stan Lazaridis, Mike Newell, Sam Small, Matthew Upson and Mark Ward.
• West Ham's best showing at Birmingham, was a 5-1 top-flight win on 1 November 1975. Birmingham's best home performance was a 4-0 triumph on 18 November 1961.
• The Hammers have not won in their last three matches at St Andrews, with the most recent being a 3-1 reverse in the Carling Cup semi-final second leg on 26 January 2011 that meant a 4-3 aggregate defeat.
• The teams last met with a relegation six-pointer on 6 February this year, when Nicola Zigic's 66th-minute goal was all that separated the sides.
The teams were:
West Ham United: Green, Jacobsen, Reid, Upson (Da Costa 46), Bridge, O'Neil, Parker, Noble, Obinna, Keane (Ba 76), Piquionne (Cole 60)
Subs: Boffin, Faubert, Kovac, Sears
Birmingham City: Foster, Carr, Johnson, Jiranek, Ridgewell, Bentley, Bowyer, Ferguson, Gardner, Jerome (Larsson 57), Zigic
Subs: Doyle, Murphy, Davies, Fahey, Beasejour, Phillips
Last six meetings (league unless stated)
6 February 2011 - West Ham United 0-1 Birmingham City
26 January 2011 - Birmingham City 3-1 West Ham United (League Cup semi-final)
11 January 2011 West Ham United 2-1 Birmingham City (League Cup semi-final)
6 November 2010 - Birmingham City 2-2 West Ham United
10 February 2010 - West Ham United 2-0 Birmingham City
12 December 2009 - Birmingham City 1-0 West Ham United
Overall record v Birmingham City (all competitions) W 32 D 20 L 40
Up next
• West Ham United travel to Derby County on New Year's Eve with the game getting under way at 1pm. Birmingham will be at home to Blackpool at 3pm.
Travel information
• Fans planning on getting to Upton Park to catch coaches should note there is a Tube strike planned for London on Boxing Day.