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West Ham after the third place

With two wins in a row, West Ham confirmed they've got the potential to get placed high, and Swansea won most of their points so far at home. They were defeated in the east London in the last three seasons

West Ham are enjoying their best season of the last 15ish years, and how long the fairy tale goes on remains to be seen. The east London club got two consecutive wins and skipped to the fifth position. If they manage to get the third triumph in eight days, they'll be at the third. 

Swansea don't seem to be a tough opponent at first glance, but this Welsh club have weak effect in away games. In the last three seasons, West Ham defeated them at home every time, and in the last six they played, they were only defeated once.

- Two wins in three days really boosted our self-confidence for the rest of the season, and we have all of our offensive options back again because Sakho is back, and Valencia and Carroll are completely ready again. We shouldn't forget Cole and Zarate either - West Ham coach Sam Allardyce said. Only the midfielder Noble is out. No sense in even mentioning how important the freshness is in December when the English clubs are playing six championship games. 

- A third win in eight days would really confirm this team's quality and character, but we know it won't be easy because Swansea are a very good team. But, we have no reason to be afraid at home, and we'll definitely do whatever we can to get three points, which would really round up the week nicely for us - Allardyce concluded. He made a few great buys this summer, and created a game that won West Ham four out of the last five home games. 

The eighth-placed Swansea won most of their points at home, so on Tuesday, they defeated QPR 2-0, and now should do more in the away game. They'll have to be braver because, usually, Swansea are playing shy and wait for their chances from the counter attacks. That tactic didn't bring them much so far. 

- This is another tough game on a stadium with a great atmosphere were points aren't won easily, especially because West Ham are playing great this season, lead by the experienced coach Allardyce who can change the tactic and his team's game style at his will - Garry Monk, Swansea coach, said. In his team, the left back Taylor has to sit out the cards, and the center back Fernandez has been injured for some time.

- We expected six points from the last two home games, but Crystal Palace got through because we didn't make our chances happen, something we have to fix because we miss a lot of chances and we wast our good game. I believe we have strength left for this game, the third one in eight days, and we'll be able to match the home team and stop their center forward Carroll and the other players, who often become scorers. But, we're ready for a big fight for 90 minutes, and we hope to get at least one point - Monk concluded. His goalgetter Bony's been playing in a great form and with the midfield, he could be a big threat for the home team. 

Two even teams fighting for high positions, both mostly satisfied with their results so far, West Ham in particular, as it's been a while since they started a season this well. This is also a third match in eight days for both, making it harder to run than usual. This has all the makings of a tough and close match in which it will me much easier to defend than charge ahead, and neither team would be unhappy with a point after all.
If that turns out to be the case, we can easily expect less work for the goalkeepers as well, and a focus on positional tactics in the middle of the pitch. West Ham will try to be more active and dangerous, while Swansea always play the same way in away matches, primarily not to concede a goal, and then do what they can on offense. West Ham gained a lot by bringing in forwards Sakh and Valencia, but neither of them is starting, and they just might remain benched as backup.
The home team's midfield lienup are not that creative to be able to go through the away's midfield easily and shift the focus to their side in order to dictate the rhythm of the game. The same goes for the other side, and a disjointed match would not come as a surprise. Swanse managed to avoid conceding a goal for six times this season, and played 0-0 away matches twice, while West Ham are far better at defending at home, and have conceded just two goals in their last five home matches, and six in all seven they played.
With all that in mind, it seems like a logical move to bet no more than two goals will be scored in the London duel, just like it happened the last three times these teams faced each other. West Ham won 2-0 and 1-0, and the outcome in Swansea was 0-0.