Reserves face Baggies

West Ham United's reserve team head to West Bromwich Albion on Tuesday evening eager to gain a victory that could lift Alex Dyer's side up to second in the Barclays Premier Reserve League South table.

The Hammers arrive at The Hawthorns fourth in the standings, level on points with third-placed Tottenham Hotspur and a point behind second-placed Fulham - both of whom are also in action on the same evening.

While Dyer's young team face rock-bottom West Brom, who have won just three of their eleven fixtures so far, Spurs host mid-table Arsenal while Fulham are at home to struggling Stoke City. Should West Ham win and the two teams above them fail to do so, the Hammers will climb to second behind runaway leaders Aston Villa.

With the first-team facing a vital Premier League trip to Villa on Saturday, West Ham will again name a youthful lineup in the Midlands, with Hungary Under-21 goalkeeper Peter Kurucz and 20-year-old striker Zavon Hines set to be the oldest players on show in claret and blue.

At the back, Bondz 'Gala could captain the side alongside Iceland Under-21 defender Holmar Orn Eyjolfsson and Under-18 regular Matt Fry as the Hammers aim to keep their third consecutive clean sheet after recording back-to-back shutouts in the two recent victories over Stoke City.

Further forward, Austria Under-19 midfielder Georg Grasser is set to feature, as are winger Anthony Edgar and the promising Ollie Lee. Northern Ireland youth international winger Danny Kearns is also in Dyer's squad and will hope to add to the winning goal he netted in the 1-0 home win against Stoke on 7 April.

Up front, Hines could be partnered by Hungarian Balint Bajner, while another youth team regular, Colombian-born Cristian Montano, will be hoping to be involved after impressing against the Potters a week ago.

West Ham, who complete their season with a trip to Portsmouth on 21 April, will be looking to complete a second-string double over the Baggies, having edged a seven-goal thriller at Bishop's Stortford last September. That night, Freddie Sears scored all four of the home team's goals in a 4-3 victory.

West Brom have lost their last three reserve team matches, losing 2-1 at home to Tottenham on 23 March before suffering away (0-1) and (0-3) defeats by Portsmouth on 31 March and 6 April respectively.

* whufc.com will have full live text coverage of the match from 7pm this evening.