West Ham vs. Arsenal Preview

West Ham is needing a result to avoid moving down on the table. Hoping to down the Gunners in a match at Emirates Stadium this Saturday will be the thoughts of all those in Claret and Blue, fans and players alike.

The Hammers will remain above relegation no matter what this weekend, but points are what they will need to keep their Premier League hopes alive.

It has been a tough stretch for the Irons battling against the top three teams on the table in three out of four of their last matches. Starting with a tough loss to Manchester United, last weekends second half disaster at Stamford Bridge and ending this weekend at Emirates Stadium against Arsenal. Including in the middle a tough home defeat against Bolton which dashed Hammer faithful hopes.

This weekends match should see the return of Carlton Cole to the starting eleven. He was rested last weekend in an attempt to give his lingering knee injury a chance to take a break.

West Ham played well against the Blues for the first half of last week with Scott Parkers amazing goal being one of the highlights of the match. But in the final 45 minutes all of Chelsea's Florent Malouda crosses finally found their effect and the game ended in disaster for West Ham.

Last time these two teams met earlier this season at Upton Park, West Ham was able to grind out a draw against the Gunners, gaining a valuable point against a top flight team. Showing gut and perseverance the Hammers scored two late goals, (one from Cole in the 74th, the other of a penalty shot from Alessandro Diamanti,) to overcome two early Arsenal goals.

Saturday's match is at 7:30 London time. Hopefully West Ham doesn't have to play catch-up this time around and can fire on all cylinders to down the Gunners.

Come On You Irons!!!

Chelsea's Struggles Make West Ham Hopeful: March 13th Match Preview

The Hammers play the Blues at Stamford Bridge this Saturday, and after the tough defeat to Bolton at Boelyn Ground West Ham will be striving for a result to keep clear of the bottom three.

West Ham has already taken one point away from a game with Chelsea this season. The Hammers forced the Blues into a draw at Upton Park back in December. Though at home, Chelsea has the disadvantage of losing two of their last three Premier League matches, but will have the boost of advancing into semi-final play of the FA Cup by defeating Stoke City.

The Irons may all want to take a result from the second place team, but it will be no easy feat. A victory for the Blues could put them back into the top spot on the League Table. The Hammers have been outspoken on the importance of a victory on Saturday, but none more than Valon Behrami. In an article on the teams official site, www.whufc.com,

Behrami said, "We can do something special, I think, but we all have to be at 100 per cent and be at 100 per cent mentally and physically."

West Ham might also need a little bit of luck to draw or defeat the club that has led the League Table for the majority of the season.

One interesting factor to note is Chelsea is the only team in the Premier League that Zola played for, after being forced out of Italian Serie A side Parma by then coach and now Chelsea coach Carlo Ancelotti. Zola scored 59 goals for the Bluesin almost 230 appearances for the club. It is not the first match Zola has manged against Chelsea with Ancelotti at its head, but it still might hold some bitter memories for Zola.

The match this Saturday is at 3:00 p.m. London time.

GO HAMMERS!