Forum | Non-Football Related

Sick note alert!

On the day when news of Andy Carroll rejecting a move abroad, rumour has it that West Ham United have offered a long-term contract to French defender Dan-Axel Zagadou, but are facing competition from Lyon for his signature. Zagadou is available on a free transfer, why?

Although young and on the face of it a strapping physical 6'5" specimen, 'Zabadoo' has a catastrophic injury record that rivals that of Big Andy! David Moyes is having to shop in the market for free agents and has supposedly expressed a serious interest in signing the 23 year old centre back. The Frenchman has been looking for a new club since leaving Borussia Dortmund in the summer and is yet to sign for anyone.

Now many will be thinking 'he is unsigned for a reason' and they will probably be right, but David Moyes might take a punt if the wage structure was appearance related. Craig Dawson is understood to have a 'gentlemen's agreement' to leave in the January window so Moyes will be mindful of how quickly the centre back situation can unravel and will be keen to try and cover his options, albeit with an injury prone player!

According to French radio station RMC, Zagadou has a lucrative offer on the table to join West Ham on a free transfer, it has been claimed that the Irons have put forward a four year deal for him to consider.

Even if he is wanted by the club Hammers are facing major competition from Lyon for Zagadou, French club Lyon's manager Peter Bosz wants defensive reinforcements and he is interested in grabbing the Frenchman on a free transfer. Zagadou is yet to make a decision and is considering his options, it is believed he would prefer signing for Lyon but the financial package they are offering is currently viewed as insufficient by the player's agents.
Zagadou COULD be decent signing, but he is definitely NOT worth getting into a bidding war for! - Ed

West Ham: Areola, Coufal, Kehrer, Ogbonna, Emerson, Rice (c), Downes, Benrahma, Lanzini, Cornet, Scamacca Subs: Randolph, Hegyi, Zouma, Dawson, Clayton, Coventry, Potts, Fornals, Lucas Paquetá, Bowen, Mubama, Antonio

FCSB: Târnovanu, Crețu, Dawa, Tamm, Radunović, Olaru, Edjouma, Oaidă, Coman (c), Cordea, Compagno Subs: Vlad, Haruț, Boboc, Bouhenna, Șerban, Pantea, Dulca, Radaslavescu, Popescu, Miculescu, Rusu, Stoica

West Ham vs Newcastle Betting Preview With Odds And Prediction
West Ham will be looking to bounce back from their disappointing 2-1 defeat to Chelsea when they next welcome Newcastle United to the London Stadium. The Irons gave a good account of themselves at Stamford Bridge and thought they’d snatched a 2-2 draw when Maxwell Cornet fired home in stoppage time. However, the goal was controversially ruled out after Jarrod Bowen was adjudged to have fouled Edouard Mendy in the build-up.

David Moyes was rightly furious with the decision and the FA have since admitted it was a poor decision from the VAR, but West Ham still left the game empty handed. That result has left the Londoners in the bottom three of the Premier League table on just four points from their opening six matches.

West Ham will be desperate to get back on track and climb up the table, so Moyes will be demanding a positive result from his players but the online casino gambling sites are predicting a close game. Newcastle are a very solid side these days and Eddie Howe has his team well organised so they will be extremely tough to beat. The Magpies only defeat so far this season came at Anfield where Liverpool needed a 98th minute winner to secure a 2-1 victory. They have also held Man City to a 3-3 draw and drew away to Wolves, so Newcastle are more than capable of getting a result against West Ham at the London Stadium.

Betting odds

The top au online casino sites and bookmakers make West Ham the slight 29/20 favourites to win the game. Newcastle are priced at 9/5 to take three points back to the north-east, while the draw can be backed at 23/10. Given the form of the two teams so far this season, a draw is perhaps a likely result and 1-1 looks like a solid bet at odds of 5/1. If you fancy West Ham to edge it, 2-1 is priced at 17/2. Michail Antonio and Gianluca Scamacca are both 6/1 to open the scoring while Newcastle’s big-money summer signing Alexander Isak is also priced at 6/1 to be first goalscorer. For an outside bet, Antonio to score first in a 1-1 draw looks tempting at odds of 42/1.
Injury worries

Moyes has some fitness concerns to worry about as Tomas Soucek is struggling with a foot injury while Scamacca missed the Chelsea game due to illness. Both players will need to be checked. Nayef Aguerd is certain to miss out after being ruled out for several weeks with an ankle ligament injury. Aaron Cresswell could also be sidelined with a groin injury while Craig Dawson and Benjamin Johnson have hamstring issues. As for Newcastle, they are currently without Jonjo Shelvey due to a thigh injury. Key trio Callum Wilson, Bruno Guimaraes and Allan Saint-Maximin are all doubts.

Prediction: West Ham 1-1 Newcastle

The 2022/23 Premier League season is well underway and the table is already beginning to take shape. The ‘big 6’ make-up six of the top seven positions, with Brighton currently gate-crashing the party following their excellent start to the campaign. However, who’s expected to occupy the top 6 places come May?

Usual suspects

Obviously Manchester City are widely expected to finish in the top six once again this season. It would need a miracle for the defending Premier League champions to miss out, so it’s no surprise that the australian‌ ‌casino sites and bookmakers are only offering 1/1000 on City finishing in the top 6. The vast majority of betting sites aren’t even offering odds at all.

Liverpool have endured a difficult start to the season with Jurgen Klopp’s injury-plagued squad sitting seventh after winning just two of their six matches so far. However, the Merseysiders are still a quality side and will be extremely confident of finishing in the Champions League qualification places, meaning a top six position is virtually guaranteed. Liverpool are priced at 1/66 with some bookmakers so it seems them and City are dead certs.

Arsenal have perhaps been the surprise package so far this season. The Gunners won their opening five matches and still sit top of the table despite seeing that winning streak end at Old Trafford. Before the season begun, some pundits thought Arsenal could drop out of the top six this season but Mikel Arteta’s men are 1/10 to finish in the top six positions following their terrific start.

Tottenham are also widely fancied to finish in the top six once again with best casinos online usa offering odds of 1/10. Antonio Conte has built a strong squad in north London and they’ve looked solid so far having picked up 14 points from their six matches – enough to see them joint second in the table along with Man City.

Chelsea have sacked Thomas Tuchel following their disappointing start to the new season. The Blues are sixth on 10 points so it’s hardly been a disaster but it’s enough for owner Todd Boehly to relieve Tuchel of his duties. The new incoming manager will have a quality squad at his disposal and Chelsea should be confident of finishing in the top six with betting sites pricing them at 1/4.

Manchester United have recovered from a poor start and are now fifth in the table after beating leaders Arsenal recently. Erik ten Hag’s side are a work in progress but they’re still expected to make the top six with bookies pricing the Red Devils at 4/11.

Outsiders

Based on the odds, the betting markets believe we’ll see the usual ‘big 6’ occupying the top six positions at the end of the season. Man Utd look the most vulnerable to miss out, with Newcastle United priced at 2/1 to take advantage. Brighton are 3/1 after their excellent start that sees them currently sitting fourth in the table.

However, what about West Ham? Could they be the dark horses to snatch a top six place if one of the big football teams endure a season to forget? The Hammers are 9/1 to finish in the top six following their poor start to the new season so some diehard fans may be tempted to have a punt.

David Moyes’ side were right in the mix for the top six last season but fell away during the closing stages as they switched focus to the Europa League. Their European adventure ended with a heart-breaking semi-final defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt and West Ham never really recovered. A poor final few results saw the club finish seventh – just two points behind Man Utd.

So West Ham certainly have the quality to push the likes of United close for the top six. The Irons are currently 18th after winning just one of their six games so far, leaving them six points adrift of sixth-placed Chelsea. Therefore, they’ll have to start putting a winning run together soon if they want to be challenging for the European qualification spots again this season. - Ed