Alexander Pearce previews the match at the Britannia Stadium…
West Ham travel to Stoke tomorrow looking to maintain their excellent start to the season which currently sees them occupying fourth place in the table.
Last week saw them defeat the champions Manchester City 2-1 at home but manager Sam Allardyce has warned his side of backing up that performance at the Britannia.
Speaking to the media ahead of the match he said, “Quite often when an underdog team wins a big match they can quite often lose the next game. That’s what I have to try and guard against, we may lose the next game, but I have to try and get the best performance out of the team that I can, one that can match the performance we put out against Manchester City.”
The big concern for the Hammers is the injury doubt over Diafra Sakho. The striker, who has scored in six consecutive starts, hurt his shoulder when he clashed with Joe Hart last Saturday. He is rated as 50/50 for the match and a decision could be made on the morning of the game whether he can play.
Mauro Zarate and Guy Demel are both expected to miss out through injuries but Matt Jarvis and James Tomkins have both recovered and return to the squad. Long-term absentee Andy Carroll has returned to training but will be given more time to get match-fit.
For Stoke, Peter Crouch and Phil Bardsley are both suspended. Crouch was sent off in Stoke’s midweek loss to Southampton in the Capital One Cup whilst Bardsley have reached the five bookings milestone.
Jon Walters and Geoff Cameron could replace them in the starting line-up in a Stoke side which has been inconsistent so far this term. The Potters currently sit 12th in table and have uncharacteristically already lost three matches at home in all competitions this season. They will, however, have fond memories of playing West Ham, over whom they achieved the double last season.