Thursday 31 October 2013

West Ham United vs Aston Villa

Saturday 2nd November
15:00
Boleyn Ground

West Ham United vs Aston Villa

Analysis
After a hard fought victory over Burnley in the Capital One Cup in midweek, West Ham now welcome Aston Villa to the Boleyn Ground.

Villa haven't been in the best of form, losing their last two games, and failing to score in their last three matches.

Part of this could be down to talisman Christian Benteke's recent dry spell. The Belgian scored four goals in his opening four games this season, but hasn't scored in three games now - missing a penalty last weekend against Everton.

Despite this, Benteke is the obvious dangerman for Villa. In his debut Premier League season he bagged 19 goals in 34 appearances, and almost single handedly keeping the Villains away from relegation. In fact, the Belgian scored a massive 40% of his sides goals.

On his day, Benteke can be unplayable. Against Arsenal on the opening day of the season, he bagged a brace, winning an uncharacteristically high 60% of his aerial duels, bullying and battering the Arsenal centre backs.

Provided either James Collins or James Tomkins recover from knocks in time to line up against Benteke this weekend, he should have no such joy against a West Ham back line that has managed 5 clean sheets so far this season.

Below is Benteke's heat map from that Arsenal game. What is clear, is that he doesn't simply hang around the penalty area picking up scraps. He is happy to drop deep to affect play, often carving out his own opportunities.


One of the ways to limit the dangers that Benteke poses, is to cut off his supply line.

Under Paul Lambert, Aston Villa have been set up to soak up pressure from the opposition, and then hit on the counter attack. Opposition fullbacks often commit forward, leaving space for the pacy Benteke, Gabriel Agbonlahor and Andreas Weimann to attack.

Everton coped with this tactic very well last weekend.

The image below shows Everton's attempted tackles. The Toffees attempted 26 tackles against Villa (winning 17) with 22 of those coming within their own half. The ability of the Everton defenders and midfield to sit in position and deal with the counter attack was typified by Gareth Barry, who stayed in the deep defensive midfield role, breaking up play.

Barry's importance in keeping Villa quiet suggests that Mark Noble will have an important role to play on Saturday. Noble has attacked with an increased swagger this season, driving the ball forward at any given opportunity to support the forwards. But he will need to display discipline as the main holding midfielder, breaking up play, and stopping Villa coming through the centre of the park on the break.


But Noble and his midfield colleagues will have more to deal with than just stopping the break. Villa also possess a number of gifted passers of the ball in the middle of the park.

Last season, Ashley Westwood took the plaudits as a patient, economical passer of the ball, but this year the star has been Fabian Delph.

The former Leeds United captain has completed an impressive 82% of his passes this season, and has made the most passes of all Villa players. Delph currently averages 48 passes per game in the league this season.

Whilst Villa and Delph are good in possession, happy to keep hold of the ball in the middle of the park, they do rely on the counter attack to create chances. As already touched upon, Everton dealt with the break very well on Saturday afternoon. The image below show's Delph's attempted passes from that day. What you can see, is that the Englishman completed the majority of passes in the middle third of the pitch.

When moving into the attacking third, his success levels fell. You can see that the majority of his failed passes were balls toward the penalty area, whilst the one chance he did create came on the break, with the one yellow area right in the centre circle.


The final area to mention, is Villa's defence.

This season, Ron Vlaar has been the stand out defender in their back line, but he has yet to be really tested in the way West Ham will test him.

Whilst Vlaar's dual success looks very impressive - 89% of tackles won, 60% of headed duels won - he has only been involved in a small number of headed duels this season.

Should Carlton Cole come into the side at the weekend, Vlaar and his colleagues will have a completely different style of play to come up against. And if Cole doesn't come into the side, it is fair to assume that the 4-6-0 formation would continue, meaning the Villa defence will again play against a different style of play.


In my opinion, West Ham are a better side than Aston Villa, and we should win this game.

Our home form has been poor recently - although we can point to some unfortunate results, rather than particularly poor performances - and this is the game that we need to get back on track.

For me, the key is that the back four, and the holding midfielder remain disciplined. Villa have a number of very quick, direct players who will run at you and cause mayhem. West Ham must remain disciplined to counter this.

In attack, we are capable of hurting Villa. Ron Vlaar has been the outstanding defender for them, but his aerial prowess if still questionable, remaining mostly unchallenged this season. If West Ham can get the ball into the right areas, we can hurt Villa.

There is no reason why we can't win this game, and I think we will.

 Head to Head 
36% Head to Head Win % 36%
38 Won 38
31 Drawn 31
38 Lost 38
166 Goals Scored 168
168 Goals Conceded 166

 Recent Form 
W L W L D W Last 6 W L W D L L
9 Goals Scored 4
6 Goals Conceded 10
  
W W L L W L Home/Away Form W D W L W D
10 Goals Scored 9
10 Goals Conceded 6
  
 Form Player (Last 6 League) 
Winston Reid - Ron Vlaar
6 Appearances 6
540 Minutes Played 540
  
225 Sum Squawka Performance Score 156
38 Average Squawka Performance Rating 26
  
229 Passes Attempted 214
168 Completed 180
73% Success Rate 84%
  
0 Chances Created 1
0 Assists 0
  
2 Attempts on Goal 3
1 On Target 1
1 Goals 0
  
17 Tackles Made 11
13 Successful Tackles 10
76% Success Rate 91%
  
21 Interceptions 12
45 Clearances 48
7 Blocks 2
12 Defensive Actions Per Game 10
  
24 Aerial Duels 9
16 Won 5
67% Success Rate 56%

0 Defensive Errors 0
0 Leading to a Goal 0
  
 Last Meeting 
10 February 2013
1-0 Christian Benteke 74'
2-0 Charles N'Zogbia 78'
2-1 Ashley Westwood OG 87'

4-2-3-1 Starting Formation 4-2-3-1

Jussi Jääskeläinen - Brad Guzan
Joey O'Brien (24') - Matthew Lowton
James Tomkins - Ron Vlaar
Winston Reid - Ciaran Clark
Emanuel Pogatetz - Nathan Baker
Mark Noble (76') - Ashley Westwood
Mohamed Diamé - Fabian Delph
Joe Cole - (63') Jordan Bowery
Kevin Nolan - (85') Charles N'Zogbia
Matthew Taylor (67') - (64') Andreas Weimann
Andy Carroll - Christian Benteke

 Subs 
Raphael Spiegel - Shay Given
Guy Demel (24') - Joe Bennett
Matt Jarvis - Barry Bannan
Gary O'Neil - Brett Holman
Ricardo Vâz Te (67') - (85') Yacouba Sylla
Carlton Cole (76') - (63') Darren Bent
Marouane Chamakh - (64') Simon Dawkins

 Absentees 
 Injured/Doubtful 
West Ham United: James Collins, James Tomkins, George McCartney, Alou Diarra, Matthew Taylor, Ricardo Vâz Te, Andy Carroll
Aston Villa: Jores Okore, Gary Gardner, Marc Albrighton, Charles N'Zogbia

 Suspensions 
West Ham United: n/a
Aston Villa: n/a

  Opposition Last Time Out
vs Everton
 Goals Scored: 0
 Goals Conceded: 2
 Starting Formation: 4-4-2

  Brad Guzan

  Leandro Bacuna  Ron Vlaar  Nathan Baker  Antonio Luna (45')

  Andreas Weimann  Ashley Westwood  Fabian Delph  Gabriel Agbonlahor

  Aleksandar Tonev (77')  Christian Benteke

 subs: 
  Jed Steer
  Ciaran Clark (45')
  Karim El Ahmadi
  Nicklas Helenius (77')
  Yacouba Sylla
  Libor Kozak
  Matthew Lowton

 Best Player: Ron Vlaar
 Squawka Rating: 22
 Worst Player: Brad Guzan
 Squawka Rating: -23
  
 Top 5's (Min 3 Apps) 
 Goals Scored 
Ravel Morrison 2 - 4 Christian Benteke
Ricardo Vâz Te 2 - 1 Leandro Bacuna
Joe Cole 1 - 1 Karim El Ahmadi
Mark Noble 1 - 1 Libor Kozak
Kevin Nolan 1 - 1 Antonio Luna

 Assists 
Matt Jarvis 2 - 2 Gabriel Agbonlahor
Mohamed Diamé 1 - 1 Leandro Bacuna
Ravel Morrison 1 - 1 Brad Guzan
Mark Noble 1 - 1 Andreas Weimann
Kevin Nolan 1 - 1 Ashley Westwood

 Passing Accuracy 
Stewart Downing 85% - 88% Jores Okore
Ravel Morrison 83% - 85% Nicklas Helenius
Mark Noble 82% - 85% Aleksandar Tonev
Kevin Nolan 80% - 84% Ron Vlaar
Joey O'Brien 79% - 84% Karim El Ahmadi

 Chances Created per game 
Stewart Downing 2.3 - 1.7 Christian Benteke
Mark Noble 2.2 - 1.6 Gabriel Agbonlahor
Matt Jarvis 1.3 - 1.3 Matthew Lowton
Rǎzvan Raţ 1 - 1.3 Ashley Westwood
Modibo Maïga 0.8 - 1 Andreas Weimann

 Successful Dribbles per game 
Mohamed Diamé 2.2 - 2.9 Fabian Delph
Mark Noble 1.7 - 1.4 Gabriel Agbonlahor
Ravel Morrison 1.4 - 1 Leandro Bacuna
Joe Cole 0.8 - 1 Antonio Luna
Modibo Maïga 0.7 - 0.8 Andreas Weimann

 Tackles per game 
Mohamed Diamé 2.9 - 4.1 Karim El Ahmadi
Mark Noble 2.6 - 3.7 Fabian Delph
Winston Reid 2.3 - 2.9 Antonio Luna
James Collins 2.2 - 2.1 Leandro Bacuna
Kevin Nolan 2.2 - 2 Matthew Lowton

 Aerial Duels Won per game 
Modibo Maïga 6.2 - 7.7 Christian Benteke
James Collins 3.3 - 3.2 Libor Kozak
James Tomkins 3.3 - 2.5 Nathan Baker
Winston Reid 3.2 - 2 Ciaran Clark
Joey O'Brien 1.4 - 1.6 Fabian Delph

 Manager 
Sam Allardyce - Paul Lambert
42.3% Current Club Win % 35.0%
44 Won 20
28 Drawn 12
32 Lost 25
  
40.0% Managerial Career Win % 41.3%
338 Won 158
227 Drawn 90
279 Lost 134

2 League Titles 1
0 Cup Wins 0

Monday 28 October 2013

Swansea City 0 - 0 West Ham United

27/10/2013
16:00
Liberty Stadium

Swansea City vs West Ham United
 Goalscorers

 Analysis 
Another point on the road. Four clean sheets in five away games. An improvement by three goals an one point on the same fixture last season. At the start of the season, most of us agreed that an improvement in away results would be a crucial factor in seeing us develop this season, and it appears we are getting there.

But there were more than enough opportunities for us to win this game.

We are all getting used to Sam Allardyce saying in his post match conferences that we are creating chances but failing to take them. Sometimes we don't all agree with Sam's point, but there was no arguing this week.

The image below shows the number of shots off target by West Ham yesterday afternoon. There were seven different attempts off target, six of which came from within the penalty area, and four of which came within the six yard box.

Failing to even hit the target on four different occasions from within the six yard box is criminal, and we need to start taking these opportunities if we want to climb up the table.


And this inability to take our chances meant we, yet again, relied on our defence and goalkeeper to save the day.

Jussi Jaaskelainen made 5 saves on the day, with one or two of them at the very highest standard (Wilfried Bony's attempt had my heart in my mouth!), and the defence were once again almost impenetrable.

Between them, the back four of Guy Demel, James Tomkins, Winston Reid and Razvan Rat managed 5 tackles, 11 interceptions, 22 clearances, and blocked three shots.

Between the five of them, they managed to thwart 8 goal-bound Swansea attempts, as shown in the image below (Purple = Saved, Orange = Blocked).


One thing we did see for the first time in a while was a big man leading the line. Although we started with the strikerless 4-6-0 again, Carlton Cole's introduction gave us a different way to attack. 

Carlton's return to the club has not been universally welcomed by supporters, but he certainly managed to provide an alternative outlet in attack on Sunday. He only managed 15 touches of the ball, but with those, he managed to get one shot on target, create a goalscoring opportunity for Matt Jarvis, and, perhaps the one thing we've most lacked in the absence of a big man, four clearances.

The image below shows Carlton's attempted passes. What you can see, is that he operated within the width of the 18 yard box and no wider - giving the side a real focal point. Okay, so his passing wasn't perfect with a 43% accuracy, but his presence allowed us to regain a foothold in the game when it looked to be slipping away.


The final area that I wanted to focus on was the performance of Kevin Nolan.

There has been a lot of criticism of Nolan's involvement so far this season - with the skipper failing to gain a foothold in game after game in the Premier League.

Well, Sunday afternoon was no different. In a full 90 minutes, Nolan touched the ball just 26 times - less than all West Ham players other than the substitutes and Ricardo Vaz Te (removed after half an hour with injury).

He did get involved in the dirty, defensive work - attempting three tackles, and managing one interception and a clearance, but his defensive role appears increasingly baffling. The selection of Nolan in this deeper, defensive role next to Mark Noble is designed to allow Mohamed Diamé the opportunity to push on and attack the opposition. But Diamé is one of our best tacklers, and his energy and ability to drive with the ball from deep was one of our most effective weapons last season. It seems that Nolan sitting in this role is forcing Diamé out of his best position, and moving Nolan away from the areas in which he is most effective.

The image below shows Nolan's passes. Although he was useful on the ball (81% passing accuracy) his total of 16 attempted passes essentially renders him anonymous in possession.


Any point away from home is a good point, so we should be pleased with this result. But we will always wonder what could, or should, have been in this game.

A midweek trip to Burnley in the Capital One Cup will give us the opportunity to get a few more players up to speed before Aston Villa come to the Boleyn next Saturday, in a game we really need to to win.

 General Play 
4-2-3-1 Formation 4-2-3-1
(47) Michel Vorm - Jussi Jääskeläinen (43)
(22) Angel Rangel - Guy Demel (15)
(66) Chico Flores - James Tomkins (24)
(63) Ashley Williams - Winston Reid (46)
(24) Neil Taylor - Rǎzvan Raţ (18)
(4) Leon Britton - Mark Noble (18)
(1) Jonathan De Guzman - Kevin Nolan (10)
(8) Nathan Dyer - Stewart Downing (36)
(16) Miguel Michu - Ravel Morrison (-1)
(-10) Wayne Routledge - Ricardo Vâz Te (2)
(-16) Alvaro Vazquez - Mohamed Diamé (-18)

(27) Pablo Hernandez - Matt Jarvis (-26)
(11) Wilfried Bony - Carlton Cole (6)
(n/a)  - Joe Cole (-35)

Best Performance
(66) Chico Flores - Winston Reid (46)

Worst Performance
(-16) Alvaro Vazquez - Joe Cole (-35)

65% Possession 35%

644 Passes Attempted 326
Ashley Williams 94 Most Attempted 38 Mark Noble

82% Passing Accuracy 65%
71% In Opp. Half 59%
Jonathan De Guzman 92% Best Accuracy 88% Ravel Morrison

56 Long Balls 62
Ashley Williams 12 Most Long Balls (excl. GK) 7 Rǎzvan Raţ

Most Frequent Pass Combination
Williams to Chico 23 - 9 Noble to Downing

 7 Aerial Duels Won 15 
 32% Success 68% 
Ashley Williams 3 Most Won 4 Winston Reid

Ashley Williams 110 Most Touches 55 Mark Noble

 Offensive Play 
10 Attempts on Goal 15
5 On Target 5
2 Off Target 7
3 Blocked 3
4 From Outside the Box 3
Miiguel Michu 3 Most Shots 3 Stewart Downing

8 Key Passes 12
Pablo Hernandez 2 Most Key Passes 2 Stewart Downing

23 Crosses 18
Jonathan De Guzman 12 Most Attempted 7 Stewart Downing

4 Successful Crosses 6
17% Success 33%
Jonathan De Guzman 4 Most Successful 3 Stewart Downing

 Defensive Play 
15 Tackles Attempted 13
13 Successful Tackles 9
87% Success 69%
Wayne Routledge 2 Most Tackles 3 Kevin Nolan

32 Clearances 35
Ashley Williams 12 Most Clearances 9 James Tomkins

7 Interceptions 19
Angel Rangel 2 Most Interceptions 5 Winston Reid

4 Shot Blocks 4
Angel Rangel 3 Most Shot Blocks 2 Winston Reid

 Discipline 
 10 Fouls 14 
3 Most Fouls 3

1 Yellow Cards 0
Swansea City:  Angel Rangel   
West Ham United:  Guy Demel,  Ravel Morrison,  Joe Cole 

0 Red Cards 0
Swansea City:     
West Ham United:     

 Head to Heads 
Michel Vorm vs Jussi Jääskeläinen
0 Goals Conceded 0
4 Saves 5
  
5 Claims 5
4 Successful Claims 5
80% Success 100%

10 Total Passes 17
7 Accurate Passes 10
70% Success 59%

4 Long Balls 14
40% % 82%

9 Throw Outs 3
1 Kick from Hand 3

0 Errors Leading to Shot 0
0 Errors Leading to Goal 0

Chico Flores 6 Most Passed To 4 Carlton Cole
Angel Rangel 3 Most Passes From 3 James Tomkins

Ashley Williams vs Winston Reid
4 Aerial Duels 5
3 Duels Won 4
75% Success 80%
  
1 Tackles Attempted 1
1 Tackles Completed 1
100% Success 100%
  
12 Clearances 9
2 Interceptions 5
0 Blocks 2
0 6yrd Blocks 0
  
0 Errors Leading to Shot 0
0 Errors Leading to Goal 0
  
94 Passes Attempted 30
84 Successful 17
89% Success 57%
  
0 Crosses Attempted 0
0 Successful 0
0% Success 0%
  
0 Chances Created 0
  
0 Attempts on Goal 0
0 On Target 0
0 Goals 0
  
Chico Flores 23 Most Passed To 3 Kevin Nolan
Chico Flores 21 Most Passes From 3 Mark Noble

Jonathan De Guzman vs Kevin Nolan
77 Passes Attempted 16
64 Successful 13
83% Success 81%
  
2 Key Passes 1
0 Assists 0
  
1 Attempts on Goal 2
0 On Target 1
0 Goals 0
  
1 Tackles Attempted 3
1 Tackles Completed 2
100% Success 67%
  
0 Clearances 1
0 Interceptions 1
0 Blocks 0
0 6yrd Blocks 0
  
0 Errors Leading to Shot 0
0 Errors Leading to Goal 0
  
Leon Britton 11 Most Passed To 3 Stewart Downing
Angel Rangel 12 Most Passes From 3 Winston Reid

Wilfried Bony vs Carlton Cole
1 Attempts on Goal 1
1 On Target 1
0 Goals 0
  
0 Key Passes 1
0 Assists 0
  
5 Passes Attempted 7
4 Successful 3
80% Success 43%
  
2 Aerial Duels 1
0 Duels Won 1
0% Success 100%
  
2 Nathan Dyer Most Passed To 1 Joe Cole
2 Nathan Dyer Most Passes From 1 Joe Cole

Thursday 24 October 2013

Swansea City vs West Ham United

Sunday 26th October
16:00
Liberty Stadium

Swansea City vs West Ham United

Analysis
After an odd few weeks, it feels like we're back to the grind this weekend.

A surprise victory over Spurs meant a large number of West Ham fans (myself included) felt a strange sense of confidence and optimism in advance of our game against Manchester City last week. But following that defeat, we really are back to normal now.

We've had a bit of a mixed start to the season, and now is the time we really need to start pushing on with our form. That said, Swansea away isn't the easiest of fixtures.

We learnt last season of the difficulties you can experience at the Liberty Stadium - although it must be noted that we didn't exactly help ourselves in that fixture last August!

Football may be a game where predictions matter very little, and we can always be surprised be games, but if there was ever a certainty in the game, it's that Swansea will dominate possession on Sunday afternoon.

In our last visit to the Liberty, we managed just 42% of possession. We attempted 375 passes (completion rate of 78%) compared to Swansea's 617 attempted (completion rate of 88%). The image below shows those passes they completed. What you can see, is that the Swans kept hold of possession in the middle third of the field, biding their time. They made less than 10 passes into the area during the game, showing that they are happy to play keep ball and wait for their chance to hurt the opposition.


When Swansea do make those ventures forward, they have men who can hurt defences. Miguel Michu has been the main man in South Wales for some time now, with a massive 20 goals in 42 Premier League appearances.

This season though, his role has been more about creating than it has been scoring. Already this season he has created 16 chances for his team mates this season - though he has bagged just the one assist.

Michu is a bit of a unique striker. Despite often playing as the lone striker in the Swans side, he is comfortable all over the pitch, regularly dropping deep and linking up with the midfield. He gained his best Squawka Performance Rating of the season against Crystal Palace last month, and the image below shows his heat map from that game.

The wide range of areas in which the Spaniard popped up demonstrate how difficult it is to mark the forward out of a game.


An area of intrigue for West Ham fans will be the opportunity to take a close up look at what might have been, in striker Wilfried Bony. The Ivorian was heavily linked with the Hammers over the summer, before moving to Swansea from Vitesse Arnhem.

Bony has struggled for form so far in the Premier League, managing just one goal, from the penalty spot, since a debut consolation goal against Manchester United. He has managed 90 minutes just once in the league so far, and his pass completion rate of 76% is the worst of all Swansea players in the Premier League this season.

The image below shows Bony's attempts on goal so far this season. The stats show that he is attempting plenty of efforts on goal, but is struggling to take his chances.


But Swansea have more than just a couple of dangerous strikers.

The man in form for the Welsh side is young left back Ben Davies. When Neil Taylor suffered a broken ankle at the start of last season, few expected the young Welshman to step up and, ultimately, make the position his own.

This season, Davies has managed to create 5 chances, score two goals, complete 84% of his passes, and complete an impressive six defensive actions per game.

But what has really impressed is his success in the tackle. Of his attempted 18 tackles so far, the youngster has completed a massive 17 (94%) of them. This is a massive step up from last season, where Davies was successful with 73% of his attempted 92 tackles.

The image below shows Davies duel successes this season - he's won 63% of all duels this season so far.


There are reasons to be optimistic though.

Swansea's players have made five errors leading to shots on goal this season (Davies, Ashley Williams & Chico Flores with one each, Jonjo Shelvey with two), three of which have led to goals. Only Norwich have conceded more goals directly from individual player errors than the Swans this season.

There is also the possibility that a number of Swansea's players will be those that played in the Europa League on Thursday too. Swansea have mixed form in league games following on from the European exploits, with two wins and three defeats from those games.

This game is a tough one to call. Swansea's home form has been shaky (against admittedly difficult opposition) this season, and West Ham concede very few away from home (or anywhere, for that matter).

If the Hammers can keep the Swans at bay, there is no reason to see why we couldn't get a result away from home this Sunday.

 Head to Head 
31% Head to Head Win % 47%
17 Won 26
12 Drawn 12
26 Lost 17
73 Goals Scored 107
107 Goals Conceded 73

 Recent Form 
L L W L W D Last 6 D L W L W L
10 Goals Scored 9
6 Goals Conceded 9
  
W D L W W D Home/Away Form L L D D L W
14 Goals Scored 4
6 Goals Conceded 5
  
 Form Player (Last 6 League) 
Ben Davies - Winston Reid
6 Appearances 6
501 Minutes Played 540
  
242 Sum Squawka Performance Score 164
40 Average Squawka Performance Rating 27
  
343 Passes Attempted 221
278 Completed 167
81% Success Rate 76%
  
3 Chances Created 0
0 Assists 0
  
3 Attempts on Goal 5
3 On Target 1
2 Goals 1
  
13 Tackles Made 16
12 Successful Tackles 12
92% Success Rate 75%
  
12 Interceptions 17
24 Clearances 46
2 Blocks 5
6 Defensive Actions Per Game 11
  
28 Aerial Duels 30
17 Won 19
61% Success Rate 63%

1 Defensive Errors 0
0 Leading to a Goal 0
  
 Last Meeting 
02 February 2013
1-0 Andy Carroll 77'

4-2-3-1 Starting Formation 4-2-3-1

Gerhard Tremmel - Jussi Jääskeläinen
Angel Rangel - Joey O'Brien
Ashley Williams - James Tomkins
Chico Flores - Winston Reid
Ben Davies - Matthew Taylor
Leon Britton (57') - Mark Noble
Ki Sung-Yong - (86') Mohamed Diamé
Pablo Hernandez - Ricardo Vâz Te
Jonathan de Guzman - (91') Kevin Nolan
Wayne Routledge (75') - (62') Matt Jarvis
Miguel Michu - Andy Carroll

 Subs 
David Cornell - Raphael Spiegel
Gary Monk - (91') Emanuel Pogatetz
Dwight Tiendalli - Jack Collison
Nathan Dyer (75') - (62') Joe Cole
Roland Lamah - (86') Gary O'Neil
Itay Shechter - Carlton Cole
Luke Moore (57') - Marouane Chamakh

 Absentees 
 Injured/Doubtful 
Swansea City: Ashley Williams, Ben Davies, Pablo Hernandez
West Ham United: James Collins, Guy Demel, Alou Diarra, Andy Carroll

 Suspensions 
Swansea City: n/a
West Ham United: n/a

  Opposition Last Time Out
vs Kuban Krasnodar
 Goals Scored: 1
 Goals Conceded: 1
 Starting Formation: 4-2-3-1

  Gerhard Tremmel
  
  Dwight Tiendalli (59') Chico Flores Jordi Amat Neil Taylor

Jose Canas Jonjo Shelvey

Nathan Dyer (77') Miguel Michu (59') Alejandro Pozeulo

Wilfried Bony
  
 subs: 
  Michel Vorm
Leon Britton
Roland Lamah (77')
  Garry Monk
Jonathan De Guzman
Angel Rangel (59')
Alvaro Vazquez (59')

 Best Player: 
 Squawka Rating: 
 Worst Player: 
 Squawka Rating: 
  
 Top 5's (Min 3 Apps) 
 Goals Scored 
Wilfried Bony 2 - 2 Ravel Morrison
Ben Davies 2 - 2 Ricardo Vâz Te
Miguel Michu 2 - 1 Joe Cole
Jonathan de Guzman 1 - 1 Kevin Nolan
Nathan Dyer 1 - 1 Winston Reid

 Assists 
Pablo Hernandez 2 - 2 Matt Jarvis
Wayne Routledge 2 - 1 Mohamed Diamé
Wilfried Bony 1 - 1 Ravel Morrison
Miguel Michu 1 - 1 Mark Noble
Jonjo Shelvey 1 - 1 Kevin Nolan

 Passing Accuracy 
Leon Britton 94% - 88% Stewart Downing
Jose Canas 90% - 83% Ravel Morrison
Ashley Williams 90% - 81% Mark Noble
Chico Flores 90% - 80% Kevin Nolan
Alex Pozuelo 89% - 79% Joey O'Brien

 Chances Created per game 
Pablo Hernandez 2 - 2.3 Stewart Downing
Miguel Michu 2 - 2.3 Mark Noble
Nathan Dyer 1.5 - 1.3 Matt Jarvis
Wayne Routledge 1.4 - 1 Rǎzvan Raţ
Wilfried Bony 1.1 - 0.8 Modibo Maïga

 Successful Dribbles per game 
Pablo Hernandez 1.7 - 2.4 Mohamed Diamé
Nathan Dyer 1.5 - 1.9 Mark Noble
Alex Pozuelo 0.9 - 1.4 Ravel Morrison
Miguel Michu 0.9 - 1 Joe Cole
Jonathan de Guzman 0.8 - 0.8 Guy Demel

 Tackles Won per game 
Ben Davies 2.3 - 3.1 Mohamed Diamé
Pablo Hernadez 2 - 2.6 Mark Noble
Chico Flores 1.9 - 2.3 James Collins
Angel Rangel 1.8 - 2.3 Winston Reid
Nathan Dyer 1.5 - 2.3 James Tomkins

 Aerial Duels Won per game 
Chico Flores 3.1 - 6.2 Modibo Maïga
Ben Davies 2.5 - 4 James Tomkins
Wilfried Bony 1.9 - 3.3 James Collins
Ashley Williams 1.8 - 3.1 Winston Reid
Miguel Michu 1.6 - 1.4 Joey O'Brien

 Manager 
Michael Laudrup - Sam Allardyce
38.7% Current Club Win % 42.1%
24 Won 43
17 Drawn 27
21 Lost 32
  
45.9% Managerial Career Win % 40.0%
142 Won 337
76 Drawn 226
91 Lost 279

1 League Titles 2
4 Cup Wins 0