Preview: Blackburn v West Ham

By Simon Hayes on March 20, 2009 4:55 PM |

Tagged with:

West Ham hope to shake off their week of woes when they travel to Ewood Park to play Blackburn Rovers tomorrow.

The Irons were hit in the pocket when they agreed to pay around £15million in compensation to Sheffield United over the Carlos Tevez affair, and they have injury worries.

Matthew Upson strained a calf during Monday's goalless draw against West Bromwich Albion and is struggling to be fit.

That means James Tomkins is likely to be partnered by either Lucas Neill - against his former club - or Jonathan Spector.

Savio Nsereko is also a doubt after picking up a knock on his knee on Monday, while Carlton Cole serves the second of a two match ban for his sending-off at Wigan.

Diego Tristan is likely to play alongside David Di Michele and Freddie Sears if Zola decides to keep his attack-minded formation.

Better news is injury-plagued midfielder Kieron Dyer has trained with the first team this week and could feature.

Teenage central defender Bondz N'Gala could be on the bench, alongside Junior Stanislas, who made a promising debut as a substitute on Monday.

The last meeting between the teams was at the end of August when the Hammers won 4-1, giving old boy Paul Ince a hot reception on his first visit to Upton Park as a manager.

Ince has long since departed and Rovers have rallied in their relegation battle under Sam Allardyce.

Last season's corresponding fixture saw West Ham win 1-0 in December 2007.

But the game most Irons fans will recall is the fixture in March 2007, when a controversial goal - which failed to cross the line - helped them to a 2-1 win and kick-started the great escape for which the club has since been heavily punished financially.

West Ham (from): Green, Lastuvka, Neill, Ilunga, Lopez, Spector, N'Gala, Tomkins, Upson, Noble, Parker, Kovac, Sears, Savio, Dyer, Boa Morte, Tristan, Di Michele, Payne, Stanislas.

Venue: Ewood Park, Blackburn

Kick-off: 3pm

Referee: Chris Foy

Travel:

By car: From the South leave the M6 at Junction 29 and join the M65 and head East to Blackburn.

Ewood Park is well signposted on the M65, leave at junction 4, join the A666 and head towards Blackburn. Ewood Park is about a mile away on your right.

Street parking close to Ewood Park is restricted, please use the car parks provided.

By Train: Blackburn station is approximately a mile and a half from Ewood Park. Mill Hill station is approximately one mile away from the ground. There are direct trains from Manchester Victoria, Salford Crescent and Preston. See the Nationalrail website for train times.