Football
PA Sport 9y

Diafra Sakho relishing West Ham's run of derbies

Diafra Sakho is looking forward to three more London derbies in the coming weeks, starting with the visit of Crystal Palace on Saturday.

The Senegal striker tops West Ham's goal scoring charts and has already found the back of the net nine times in the Premier League since his summer arrival from Metz.

Having gone three games without a goal, Sakho scored to put the Hammers 2-0 up at Tottenham last weekend, only for Sam Allardyce to see his side concede two late goals and have to settle for a point.

The game at White Hart Lane was the first in a run of four Premier League derbies for West Ham and, although Sakho is looking ahead to a clash with league-leaders Chelsea next week -- with a trip to Arsenal also on the horizon, he has his eyes firmly set on reaching double figures against Palace beforehand.

"I am really looking forward to our game on Saturday against Crystal Palace, I look forward to every game but particularly at home, playing in front of our fans," he said. "The game against Crystal Palace away at the start of the season was my first game for the club so it was special for me, we won as well which makes it better.

"Every derby is special for the fans, and for the players also. I'm quickly learning how important London derbies are, and after Palace we've got two more against Chelsea and Arsenal.

"They are all big matches, but honestly, I never get fazed by any match. The Chelsea game next week is huge for everyone. A Wednesday evening game under the lights at the Boleyn Ground is something to look forward to. But, we will only focus on the Chelsea after Crystal Palace."

Allardyce admits he was glad to see Sakho back amongst the scorers last time out and has been pleased with the continued effort of the 25-year-old.

"I was happy with everyone's performance [at Tottenham]," he said. "But of course it was nice to see Sakho score, I think he's been working hard it just hasn't fallen for him. He deserved his goal because of his work rate and to get in that position from where he scored in the first place."

There will be added pressure for Sakho, as well as Enner Valencia, to score the goals to get the Hammers back in the hunt for European football after both Andy Carroll and Carlton Cole were sidelined with injuries.

Former Paris Saint-Germain forward Nene has arrived on a free transfer and, given his shortage of options in attack, Allardyce revealed he is likely to give the 33-year-old some game-time against the Eagles.

When asked if the former Monaco man would be involved at the weekend, Allardyce said: "Yes, most likely on the bench. Especially with the injury to Carlton Cole, he can play a big part for us and he needs to stake a claim to play for us."

With Carroll and Cole missing, West Ham's only other absentee for Saturday is Morgan Amalfitano, who is still serving a three-match ban after his sending off at West Brom in the FA Cup defeat.

^ Back to Top ^