Preview: West Ham v Aston Villa
West Ham will be up against some old boys as they look to end their winless run tonight.
Aston Villa are likely to include defender James Collins in their ranks when they visit Upton Park for the Premier League clash, while former Hammers captain Nigel Reo-Coker could feature.
Collins joined Villa earlier this season, despite having been the Hammers first choice partner for Matthew Upson in central defence.
West Ham will be without Radoslav Kovac, who is serving a one match ban for his sending off at Sunderland last Saturday, but his absence will be more than covered with the return of Scott Parker from suspension.
Alessandro Diamanti is likely to be on the bench as Gianfranco Zola looks set to play Mexican striker Guillermo Franco up front following his goalscoring performance at the Stadium of Light.
Zola's men are second bottom of the Premier League and have not won a league match since the opening day of the season.
The Irons have had a difficult week, with former manager Alan Curbishley winning his constructive dismissal case yesterday following Saturday's disappointing 2-2 draw in the north east.
Defender Jonathan Spector admitted the result at Sunderland left the players feeling empty but they are determined to make amends this evening.
He said: "There was a lot of disappointment and frustration among the players. But I think we are all kind of happy that we have a game Wednesday, so that we can put right the wrongs."
The Hammers are desperate for points to pull them away from the relegation zone but will find Martin O'Neill's Villa side - unbeaten in four games - a tough nut to crack.
West Ham (from): Green, Kurucz, Ilunga, Upson, Spector, Gabbidon, Tomkins, Faubert, N'Gala, Da Costa, Daprela, Noble, Parker, Jiminez, Behrami, Collison, Stanislas, Cole, Franco, Diamanti, Hines, Nouble.
Venue: Boleyn Ground
Kick-off: 7.45pm
Referee: Steve Bennett
Travel: Nearest station is Upton Park (District line). No reported works or expected delays.
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