Match Preview: West Ham United v Aston Villa

Who are we playing?
West Ham United on Saturday 8th November at 3pm

Where are we playing?
Boleyn Ground, Green St, Upton Park, London, E13 9AZ

Can I go?
Last we heard, there were a few tickets left at £43 a pop

Easy to get to?
The nearest tube station is Upton Park, which is fine for getting there, but there tends to be massive queues after the game. Either have a couple of pints while the queue goes down or stroll to another tube station.

Can I watch it on telly?
Saturday 3 o'clocker so not on the box but dodgy web streams and pubs with overseas satellite systems are your best bet.



Big game?
Huge.

Villa finally managed a goal against a woeful Spurs side, but failed to capitalise or put the Londoners's shaky defence under any sort of sustained pressure as we got mugged as a result.

Six defeats in a row, three of them against poor quality opposition means that the alarm bells are ringing. It may be only November but the spectre of relegation is already looming large and Paul Lambert's charges seem to have little or no plan other than to catch the opposition napping on the break. Every team in the league is aware of this now and without a radical change of approach (which probably means a change of manager) Villa look doomed.

Big Sam

Big Sam has weathered the storm in terms of supporter dissatisfaction and steered West Ham to a top four position which they consolidated with a deserved win over Man City. The Premier League has a way of biting back though and Stoke City gave them a fright last time out.

Difficult to see Villa getting anything from this one. It could be a long winter. Paul Lambert is looking increasingly like a lame duck manager. Four years? It'll be amazing if he lasts another four weeks.

Bumped off by a Villa fan

Do West Ham have any famous fans?
Well there's Keira Knightly, Ray Winstone and Russell Brand

We've got Marc Baylis - the bloke that bumped off Tina in Corrie.

So we win.

Who's playing for us?
Big Chris is back on the missing list after getting himself sent off against Spurs and we are badly missing Fabian Delph. Gabby may make a swift return after being dropped while many of us are praying that Lambo will unleash the creativity and youthful enthusiasm of Jack Grealish but we're not holding our breath.

Who's playing for them?
Diafra Sakho is set to return after being forced to sit out the Hammers 2-2 draw at Stoke on Saturday after injuring his shoulder in the victory over reigning champions Manchester City. The Senegal international has hit six goals in his first six league starts.




Any useless stats?
Of course, here you go:

• West Ham United have beaten us 39 times while we have 37 wins. There have been 30 draws

• Our last win at Upton Park was back in April 2011. Robbie keane put the Hammers ahead early doors, but Darren Bent grab an equalizer and Gabby Agbonlahor broke East London hearts with a late winner.

• Our first ever encounter with est Ham was an FA Cup second round tie in 1913 and we hammered them 5-0, Harold Halse netting twice

Prediction
Going for 3-0 win for the in form home team, sadly.