West Ham United vs Middlesbrough. Premier League.
London StadiumAttendance56,945.
Saturday 1 October 2016 14:05, UK
West Ham and Middlesbrough will look to put a torrid September behind them when they face each other at London Stadium on Saturday.
Slaven Bilic's West Ham failed to win a Premier League game in September, while build-up to this match was dominated by allegations Andy Carroll and Darren Randolph were drunk after a sanctioned night out.
Bilic admitted he urged the players to enjoy some time off together, with the club currently struggling in 18th position in the table.
Boro meanwhile have lost three games in a row following an unbeaten league run in August, most recently falling to a Heung-Min Son double against Tottenham last weekend.
Bilic confirmed Havard Nordtveit is doubtful to face Boro, and Andre Ayew remains sidelined for another three to four weeks through injury.
Aaron Cresswell will return to training on Monday and is likely to feature for the Hammers after the international break.
Head coach Aitor Karanka has no fresh injury concerns ahead of the clash.
For Middlesbrough, club captain Grant Leadbitter (hernia) is progressing well but remains out for the game.
Karanka also confirmed Fabio (knee) and James Husband (shoulder) have returned to training but the pair are likely to be eased back into action.
Alvaro Negredo has scored five goals in four appearances in all competitions against the Hammers, although all five goals arrived in the EFL Cup.
West Ham have lost five of their opening six top-flight games in a season for the first time in their history.
Boro have lost their last five Premier League away games in London and have won only two of their last 22 trips to the capital (D3 L17).
Since the start of April, West Ham have conceded 19 home goals, more than any other Premier League team in that period.
Middlesbrough have not scored more than once in an away league game at West Ham since a 2-1 win in April 1989, netting four goals in 14 games since.
West Ham have lost all four Premier League games Dimitri Payet has appeared in this season - he only lost six games in the whole of 2015-16.
Victor Valdes has played six Premier League games (two for Man Utd, four for Middlesbrough) and has never been on the winning side.
This is the type of game that makes Super 6 very difficult! You just don't know. This could be any score either way. West Ham are really struggling, their defence is all over the place and they are not playing to the standards they were last season.
It was bad business to sell James Tomkins. He might not be the difference, but he makes a difference. He can play at centre-half or full-back, he is comfortable on the ball and at the moment they have no defenders. They sold him for just £10m, it wasn't a huge fee.
Middlesbrough are lacking pace and have become a bit predictable. But if they can turn in a performance like they did in the second half against Tottenham last week when the game was lost, then they have more of a chance. It's a really tough one to call.
PAUL PREDICTS: 1-1 (Sky Bet odds 5/1)
West Ham are Sky Bet's 11/10 favourites for the victory, with Middlesbrough given a 5/2 chance while the draw is priced at 12/5.
The Hammers' woeful start has seen them cut to 5/1 to face relegation, although Boro are still shorter odds at 3/1.
Michail Antonio and Diafra Sakho share favouritism in the first goalscorer betting at 3/1 apiece, while Alvaro Negredo is considered the visitors' main threat at 13/2 to net first.
West Ham v Middlesbrough is included in this week's Soccer Saturday Super 6 line-up. Enter your predictions here for the chance to win £250,000.
