West Ham vs Manchester City Half-Time Update

West Ham are not having the best of afternoons so far, as they find themselves a goal down at half-time at Upton Park against Manchester City.

The only goal came after half an hour; a cut back from Gareth Barry on the left found midfielder Yaya Toure, who smashed the ball left-footed beyond Green into the roof of the net. A win here would do wonders for the team from Manchester, and would see them leap two places to joint 1st with Arsenal.

For the score to double in the second half; a 2-0 win is currently priced at 7/2 whilst a 3-1 away victory is higher priced at 10/1. The interesting price, however, is for West Ham to win the 2nd half; 11/4 can be found should West Ham claim a point with a single second half goal.

The team news prior to kick off was that striker Emmanuel Adebayor was not deemed fit enough for the squad, so striker Jo comes in to partner Mario Balotelli. The Brazilian doesn’t have the best goal-scoring record in the Premier League, but against a frail West Ham defence he could end his barren spell, he is 8/1 to score today. Aleksandar Kolarov joins Carlos Tevez in the stands, both internationals starting suspensions. Both Kolo and Yaya Toure start for City, as does Jerome Boateng.

The Manchester club started the brighter of the two sides, having a handful of early chances to test goalkeeper Robert Green. Jo managed to find his strike partner Balotelli with a cross, but the Italian was too casual with his finish, his side foot attempt going wide. Despite this, both City strikers look alert in the absence of leading scorer Tevez.

The Blues, who last won at Upton Park at the beginning of the 07/08 season, have had the greater number of attempts and are showing why they are on a six-game unbeaten run in the league. David Silva and Gareth Barry have been troubling Avram Grant’s full backs.

Carlton Cole is only on the bench for the London club, as Frederique Piquionne starts in attack. A hip problem has kept Valon Behrami out of the squad, Kieron Dyer and Luis Boa Morte only make the bench as Julien Faubert, Pablo Barrera and Junior Stanislas all come in, as West Ham continue to try and save their season.

Despite the first-half scoreline, West Ham are far from out of this match; they are unbeaten in their last three Premier League games, and if the home crowd keep singing, a bet with the odds of 12/1 for a Hammers victory could bring a nice pre-Christmas return.

WHUFC: Green, Faubert, Tomkins, Upson, Ben-Haim, Barrera, Spector, Parker, Stanislas, Piquionne, Obinna

Substitutes: Stech, Reid, Dyer, Cole, Boa Morte, Kovac, Hines

MCFC: Hart, Boateng, Kolo Toure, Kompany, Zabaleta, De Jong, Barry, Jo, Yaya Toure, Silva, Balotelli

Substitutes: Given, Richards, Milner, Adam Johnson, Santa Cruz, Lescott, Vieira