In brief
West Ham United travel to the Britannia Stadium to play Stoke City on Saturday, with the Hammers aiming to secure their fourth consecutve win in the Barclays Premier League.
The Potters are currently 12th, having taken eleven points from their first nine games. Mark Hughes' side have struggled for consistentcy this season, securing a shock away victory at Manchester City yet losing at home to Aston Villa and Leicester City.
Sam Allardyce's team are eight places ahead of Saturday's hosts with 16 points from their first nine games after the Hammers secured a deserved 2-1 victory over reigning champions Manchester City last weekend at the Boleyn Ground. Goals from new signings Morgan Amalfitano and Diafra Sakho, his sixth in as many games, secured the three points.
Last season the Potters secured a league double over the Hammers with a 3-1 victory in the same fixture last term.
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Who are they?
Formed in 1863 as Stoke Ramblers they became Stoke Football Club following a merger with Stoke Victoria Atheltic Club. Having turned professional in 1885 they became Stoke City Football Club in 1925 after Stoke-on-Trent was granted 'City status'.
The Potters moved from the Victoria Ground after 119 years to their current home at the Britannia Stadium in 1997.
Stoke were one of the twelve founding members of the Football League. Among their club honours is winning the League Cup in 1971/72 as well as being crowned Division Two champions in 1932/33 and 1962/63.
More recently Stoke have enjoyed one of their more succesful eras having established themselves as a Premier League club since promotion in 2008.
They narrowly missed out on being crowned FA Cup winners after losing to Manchester City 1-0 in the 2011 final.
Team news
West Ham United
Diafra Sakho will face a late fitness test to assess his recovery on a shoulder injury picked up against Manchester City last saturday.
James Tomkins has overcome his thigh injury and is available for selection, as is winger Matt Jarvis following a knock.
Andy Carroll is also back in training but not yet ready to return to the first team.
Stoke City
Peter Crouch is unavailable due to suspension after being sent off in Stoke's midweek 3-2 defeat by Southampton in the League Cup.
Influential players such as Robert Huth (calf) and Peter Odemwingie (knee) are out while Glenn Whelan is also unavailable as he recovers from a broken leg, he is expected to return in early December at the earliest.
Referee
Saturday's match referee will be Merseyside based Chris Foy. The experienced referee took charge of his first Premier League match almost 13 years ago.
Foy has refereed five matches so far this season including the Hammers' opening day 1-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur which included a James Collins red card.
In Foy's only game involving West Ham last season they lost 3-0 to London rivals Chelsea.
One to watch
West Ham United
<a title="" data-cke-saved-href="/Teams/player?id=43894" href="/Teams/player?id=43894" "="" target="_self">Stoke City
French midfielder Steven Nzonzi is a poweful figure in the centre of the park for Stoke.
The dominating 25-year-old is an integral part of Stoke's line up having featured eleven times already this season.
Nzonzi is a competitive midfielder who can create openings for his teammates while not afraid to put himself about and do the unglamorous hard graft.
Tickets
Standard tickets for this game have now sold out. Tickets for the Hammers next home game with Aston Villa are available here.
Travel
Directions to the Britannia Stadium can be found here.
Weather
An overcast day with sunny spells is predicted for Saturday, with temperature at kick-off of 12C (54F)
Last meeting
Stoke City 3-1 West Ham United
Barclays Premier League
15 March 2014
Stoke City came from a goal down to win 3-1 at the Britannia Stadium last season. West Ham United striker Andy Carroll opened the scoring after just five minutes before Stoke equalised after Peter Crouch's shot was deflected in by Peter Odemwingie.
Stoke took the lead through Marko Arnautovic before Odemwingie sealed the victory with eleven minutes to go.
Stoke City: Begovic, Wilson, Shawcross, Pieters (Muniesa 14), Cameron, Whelan, Ireland, Odemwingie, Arnautovic, Nzonzi, Crouch
Subs not used: Shotton, Etherington, Palacios, Guidetti, Sorensen, Wilkinson
Goals: Crouch 32, Arnautovic 69, Odemwingie 79
West Ham United: Adrian, Demel, Reid, Tomkins, McCartney, Downing (J Cole 62), Noble, Diame, Nocerino (C Cole 76), Nolan, Carroll (Armero 83)
Subs: Jaaskelainen, Jarvis, Taylor, Collins
Goal: Carroll 5