London derby matches are coming thick and fast this festive season and West Ham, as luck would have it, will play their third derby match in two weeks, having been drawn against rivals Arsenal for this 3rd Round FA Cup tie.
Following Monday’s 0-2 defeat away to Spurs at White Hart Lane, West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola will be glad this match takes place at Upton Park, where the Hammers held Chelsea to a 1-1 draw less than two weeks ago.
West Ham had a good outing on that day, and although penalty kicks decided the tie, that heady result was one of the few bright moments in the Hammers’ campaign this season.
A less than festive season for the Eastenders
Of their last six matches the Hammers have one just once, a 2-0 victory at home over league doormats Portsmouth.
That victory, along with the draw against Chelsea, only serves to punctuate a sad litany of recent losses to Manchester United, Birmingham, Bolton and Spurs in that order.
If nothing else at least Gianfranco Zola can be comforted by the knowledge that his squad is one of the few English Premier league teams who lose no one to the African Cup of Nations.
Yet Zola's squad is far from full strength. Mexican striker Guille Franco will miss the Arsenal clash due to an accumulation of yellow cards.
Hammers injury toll
Scott Parker limped off against Tottenham due to a strained hamstring, and longer term disabilities to Keiron Dyer, Carlton Cole and Luis Boa Morte among others will undoubtedly cause Zola and his management staff some teeth-gnashing moments as the cup tie with Arsenal approaches.
Reinforcements would be desirable, and reports in the press link West Ham with a January offer for Fiorentina’s Adrian Mutu. The Hammers deny it. Even if true, however, it could have no bearing on Sunday’s match.
More immediately, Zola has recalled young striker Fred Sears from Crystal Palace, to whom he was on loan for the season.
Arsene must beware the derby factor
Although the Hammers sit well down in the table in the 17th spot, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger would be unwise to count them out. It’s a derby after all, and although the Hammers lost to London rivals Tottenham at the weekend, Zola’s squad put in a good show in their derby match against the mighty Chelsea at Upton Park.
Arsenal, meanwhile, is a depleted side. Emmanuel Eboue and Alexandre Song have left for Angola to play in the African Nations Cup. Longer term however, Arsene Wenger has been battling a series of injury crises.
Disabled Gunners
Robin Van Persie is out for the season following an ankle injury suffered while on international duty with Holland.
Spanish midfielder Cesc Fabregas virtually destroyed Aston Villa within a 30 minute period last week. It was a brilliant display from a remarkable young player, but Fabregas suffered a further strain of his hamstring. He'll missCesc Fabregas injured again the West Ham match.
Theo Walcott, Gael Clichy, Nicklas Bendtner and Tomas Rosicky are also listed as unavailable due to injury.
Yet this is Arsenal. They’ve won five of their last six matches, including a 4-1 win over Portsmouth on Wednesday. The only blemish in that stretch being a 1-1 draw at Burnley. Depth on the bench is a given, and Wenger has plenty of options available to him with the likes of youngsters Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey and others.
Arsenal will go into the New Year confidant that they have a good shot at keeping Manchester United and Chelsea within their grasp. They currently sit in 3rd place in the Premier League, two points behind Manchester United and four behind Chelsea and they still have a game in hand.
Given the injuries his side has suffered, Wenger may be looking at this FA Cup round as a welcome respite from the Premier League rigors of the past two weeks.
Different outlooks
Despite their lowly place in the league at the moment, West Ham proved in the match with Chelsea that they can be a challenging side at home, especially in a London derby atmosphere. The FA Cup will be their only opportunity to acquire any glory this year so the Hammers are likely to pull out all the stops against Arsenal.
For their part the Gunners will likely view this and future FA Cup matches as necessary speed bumps on the road to their true objective: Premier League champions. But this is West Ham at Upton Park, so this speed bump is likely to be a little higher than most.
