Struggling West Ham must beat Aston Villa
West Ham were always going to lose away to Bolton on Saturday afternoon, however the manner of the defeat came as a huge shock to those who have remained confident that Avram Grant's side were going to eventually avoid relegation this season.
In many ways, it wasn't a disastrous weekend for the Irons, as their latest failure at a ground where they have never collected a Premier League point was covered by the three clubs closest to them in the table all ending their fixtures empty-handed, yet the ease with which they were beaten 3-0 was worrying.
The east Londoners had appeared to be well on their way to securing survival when they led leaders Manchester United 2-0 at half-time nine days ago but the table-toppers comeback there and their dismal defensive showing at the Reebok Stadium has seen them brought back down with a thud.
Grant has set his team the goal of winning three of their final six games, believing that 41 points would be enough to end the campaign outside the bottom three, however such a target puts them under pressure to claim the first of those victories against Aston Villa next Saturday.
With their two matches after the visit of the underperforming second city side coming away to top-four duo Chelsea and Manchester City, a triumph is required to avoid the possibility of five straight fixtures without success, though it won't be easy as Villa have lost just three of their last 11.
Their chances of winning that encounter are rated at [2.34], so while favourites, they are far from considered nailed on, and anything other than three points may put them in a position where they can't afford a single slip up at home to Blackburn and Sunderland or away to Wigan.
Are West Ham destined for the drop? They can be backed at [1.87]...
Published: 11 Apr 2011
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