WEST HAM UNITED v STOKE CITY
BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE
SATURDAY 5 MARCH 2011
KICK-OFF: 3PM
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• West Ham United are bidding to make it back to back wins in the Barclays Premier League for the first time since February 2010 against Stoke City on Saturday. Their visitors have already been to the Boleyn this season, with the Hammers winning 3-1 after extra time in a Carling Cup fourth-round tie on 27 October 2010.
• The club have designated the match a special Flag Day, with supporters urged to show their colours with pride. To mark the occasion, the Stadium Superstore has fantastic offers on shirts, flags and scarves.
• Fans can pay on the day for Saturday with under 2,500 seats left on Friday afternoon. Go to whufcboxoffice.com for more information.
• West Ham are still in the relegation zone but despite sitting in 19th place, a win would take them to within three points of Stoke in tenth.
•The Hammers are on a high, having lost just once in the last five top-flight outings, including three. Indeed, in all competitions, Avram Grant's men have lost just twice in eleven outings.
• West Ham picked up their first Premier League point of the season at Stoke on Saturday 18 September. Scott Parker netted a first-half opener at the Britannia Stadium before Kenwyne Jones headed in an equaliser after the break.
• West Ham manager Avram Grant guided Portsmouth to a 4-0 Carling Cup fourth-round victory over Stoke last season. Frederic Piquionne scored twice in that tie at Fratton Park.
CLICK HERE FOR IMPORTANT TRAVEL INFORMATION
Matchday programme• This week's matchday programme priced at £3.50 and featuring exclusive interviews with Frederic Piquionne, Scott Parker, Matthew Upson and Eyal Berkovic, as well as Avram Grant and David Sullivan's columns, will be on sale in and around the ground. Subscribers should contact [email protected] in order to make sure they receive their copy.
Last time out
Sunday 27 February 2011
Barclays Premier League
West Ham United 3-1 Liverpool
West Ham: Green, Jacobsen, Tomkins, Upson, Bridge, O'Neil, Parker, Noble, Hitzlsperger, Piquionne (Spector 82), Ba (Cole 88)
Subs not used: Boffin, Reid, Da Costa, Boa Morte, Hines
Goals: Parker 22, Ba 45, Cole 90
Monday 28 February 2011
Barclays Premier League
Stoke City 1-1 West Bromwich Albion
Stoke: Begovic, Huth, Shawcross, Wilson, Pugh, Pennant (Whelan 78), Whitehead, Delap, Jones (Fuller 83), Walters, Carew (Etherington 65)
Subs not used: Sorensen, Higginbotham, Collins, Wilkinson
Goal: Delap 53
Previous meeting
The last meeting came this season on 27 October at the Boleyn Ground in a Carling Cup fourth-round tie. Kenwyne Jones put the Potters in front after just six minutes only for Scott Parker to equalise six minutes from time. Extra-time goals from Manuel da Costa and Victor Obinna settled the contest in the Hammers' favour.
West Ham United: Stech, Faubert, Tomkins, Da Costa, Ben Haim, Barrera, Kovac (Obinna 64), Parker, Boa Morte (Behrami 72), Cole, McCarthy (Noble 72)
Subs not used: Green, Ilunga, Reid, Nouble
Stoke City: Begovic, Wilkinson, Huth, Shawcross, Higginbotham, Pennant (Pugh 56), Whitehead, Whelan, Walters, Tuncay (Delap 77), Jones (Gudjohnsen 58)
Subs not used: Nash, Faye, Tonge, Soares
Background
• If selected, Wayne Bridge will make his 300th Barclays Premier League appearance.
• Thomas Hitzlsperger made his 100th Premier League appearance - on his top-flight debut for the Hammers - against Liverpool.
• Robert Green has made 163 saves this season, more than any other keeper in the Barclays Premier League.
• No team has been caught offside more than West Ham this season (95)
• Stoke City have yet to score in the first 15 minutes of a league match this season, although did register inside six minutes in the Carling Cup tie at West Ham in October.
• Saturday's game is the 81st time West Ham and Stoke have faced one another in competitive fixtures. West Ham have won 32, Stoke 29 and there have been 19 draws.
Overall record
v Stoke City (all competitions) W 32 D 19 L 29
Ten-year League records
West Ham United
2009/10 Premier League 17th (35 points)
2008/09 Premier League 9th (51 points)
2007/08 Premier League 10th (49 points)
2006/07 Premier League 15th (41 points)
2005/06 Premier League 9th (55 points)
2004/05 Championship 6th (73 points - promoted via play-offs)
2003/04 Championship 4th (74 points)
2002/03 Premier League 18th (42 points - relegated to Championship)
2001/02 Premier League 7th (53 points)
2000/01 Premier League 15th (42 points)
Stoke City
2009/10 Premier League 11th (47 points)
2008/09 Premier League 12th (45 points)
2007/08 Championship 2nd (79 points - promoted)
2006/07 Championship 8th (73 points)
2005/06 Championship 13th (58 points)
2004/05 Championship 12th (61 points)
2003/04 Championship 11th (66 points)
2002/03 Championship 21st (50 points)
2001/02 League One 5th (80 points - promoted via play-offs)
2000/01 League One 5th (77 points)
Team news
• All members of the first-team squad have been training to some degree this week, except for Junior Stanislas (hernia).
• Jack Collison has done some work on the Chadwell Heath pitches ahead of hopefully stepping up to join the first team next week after a year out with a knee injury.
• Kieron Dyer has been with the reserves, while Robbie Keane finished the week with some light training after his thigh problem. That duo could also be training fully next week.
• Stoke will decide on Matthew Etherington who came off the bench against West Brom on Monday after a month hampered by a jaw problem.
Referee
• Saturday's referee is Andre Marriner, who took charge of this fixture a year ago - a 1-0 win for Stoke on 26 March 2010 thanks to Ricardo Fuller's strike off the bench in the 69th minute.
• Marriner also officiated the Hammers' 3-1 home Barclays Premier League defeat by Bolton Wanderers on 21 August, the 1-1 draw with Fulham on 2 October and the 3-0 defeat by Arsenal on 15 January
• Birmingham-born Marriner began refereeing in 1992, progressing through the Birmingham Amateur Football League and the Southern League to become a Football League assistant referee in 2000.
• Marriner, who turned 40 on New Years' Day, was appointed to the Football League List of referees in 2003.
• Marriner was appointed to the Select Group in 2005. Since then, one of the most notable matches he has refereed are the 2008 FA Community Shield between Portsmouth and Manchester United at Wembley.
• The West Midlands-based official was added to FIFA's International List in 2009, but insists the biggest fixture he has ever refereed was the 2003 Conference National play-off final between Doncaster Rovers and Dagenham & Redbridge.
Old boys
• West Ham first-team coach Kevin Keen made 201 league and cup appearances for Stoke between October 1994 and September 2000, scoring 12 goals. Keen, a former West Ham apprentice, made 279 league and cup appearances for the Hammers between March 1984 and July 1993, scoring 30 goals.
• Stoke winger Matthew Etherington made 195 appearances for West Ham between August 2003 and January 2009, scoring 18 goals. He joined the Potters on 8 January 2009, having moved to the Boleyn Ground from Tottenham Hotspur five-and-a-half years previously.
• Among the other players who have represented both clubs are Clive Clarke, Bob Dixon, Sir Geoff Hurst, Lawrie Leslie, Nicky Morgan, Henri Camara and Frank Richardson.
• General information
• For ticket information, click here. For details on getting to the Boleyn Ground, click here. Supporters should note there are closures on the London Underground, including the District and Hammersmith and City lines. Click here for more information.
Weather
• The forecast is for a cloudy day, with temperatures peaking around the 7C mark.
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