West Ham v Derby preview

Hammers entertain Rams at Upton Park

By James Pearson   Last updated: 18th April 2008

Alan Curbishley woe West Ham v Chelsaea

Curbishley wants strong finish

PREDICTIONS:


Skysports.com predicts:
West Ham 3 Derby 0


SKY BET odds:
West Ham 4/11 Draw 3/1 Derby 13/2


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Scott Parker


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Two out-of-sorts teams meet at Upton Park on Saturday as West Ham entertain relegated Derby County.

While The Hammers have won one of their last nine Premier League outings, The Rams have only won all season.

West Ham boss Alan Curbishley will be keen to see his charges finish their season on a high note, Derby manager Paul Jewell will be desperate to avoid another 6-0 thrashing.

With West Ham trailing ninth-placed Blackburn by seven points it seems unlikely the East Londoners will be able to improve upon their current standing, while Derby need five points to surpass Sunderland's feeble 15-point haul in the 2005/06 season.

Trio back

Hammers boss Curbishley is set to welcome back Lucas Neill (ankle) as well as midfielder Freddie Ljungberg and Mark Noble (both hamstring) following their 1-0 defeat at Bolton last time out.

Neill is likely to replace Jonathan Spector at right-back, although the American could switch to centre-half with Anton Ferdinand missing with a hamstring stain.

John Pantsil is also in contention to replace Ferdinand after coming on as substitute for the 23-year-old defender at The Reebok.

Rising star Freddie Sears could well be drafted in up front alongside Dean Ashton following a disappointing outing by Bobby Zamora against the lowly Trotters.

Kieron Dyer, Daniel Gabbidon, Lee Bowyer, Calum Davenport and Nigel Quashie all remain long-term injury victims for Curbishley.

Changes

Jewell is likely to ring the changes to his starting XI following their embarrassing home mauling at the hands of Aston Villa last weekend.

Dean Leacock may well come in for Darren Moore, although his introduction against Villa failed to stem the tide against Roy Carroll's goal.

Carroll had a nightmare of an outing against Martin O'Neill's men and could well be taken out of the firing line with Lewis Price possibly getting his seventh league appearance of the season.

Rob Earnshaw could be drafted into Jewell's strike force, although there is every chance Emanuel Villa and Kenny Miller will keep their places up front.

Jewell remains without long-term injury victims Giles Barnes, Danny Mills and Claude Davis.