West Ham will look to ease their relegation fears with a win over Sunderland on Saturday.
Parker suspended for Hammers as injuries mount for Bruce
West Ham will look to ease their relegation fears with a win over Sunderland at Upton Park in one of only two Premier League games on Saturday.
The Hammers ended a run of six straight league defeats last weekend when they twice came from behind to earn a point at Everton.
The draw saw Gianfranco Zola's side edge a point clear of the relegation places and the Italian will be desperate for his side to put more daylight between themselves and the bottom three come Saturday evening.
Meanwhile, Sunderland appear to have recovered from their mid-season meltdown that saw them go 14 league games without a win and threaten to drag them into the relegation scrap.
The Black Cats have now suffered just one defeat in their last seven league games and recorded an impressive 3-1 win over top four hopefuls Tottenham at home last weekend.
However, Steve Bruce's side have not won away from home since the opening day of the season when they triumphed 1-0 over Bolton, going on to lose 11 of their 15 away games so far this term.
West Ham have fared little better at home in the past month, having lost their last three league games at Upton Park and Zola will be hoping his side can reproduce the fight they showed at Goodison Park six days ago.
Injury concerns
The Hammers have had a tough time with injuries this season and with just five games to go their problems show no signs of letting up.
Midfielder Valon Behrami is a severe doubt with a calf strain that has kept him sidelined since the 1-0 defeat to Stoke.
Defender James Tomkins has not featured since the 3-1 loss to Wolves because of an ankle problem and it is not yet known how long the centre-half will be out for.
Kieron Dyer looks set to miss out once more with a hamstring injury while the game has come too soon for Jack Collison (knee), Guilermo Franco (back) and Herita Ilunga (calf).
Long-term casualties Zavon Hines (knee) and Luis Boa Morte (knee) remain sidelined with both struggling to appear again this season.
Perhaps the biggest blow to Zola is the absence of the influential Scott Parker through suspension after the midfielder picked up his 10th booking of the season against Everton.
Sunderland are also struggling with injuries. Captain Lorik Cana is doubtful with a groin problem while centre-half Michael Turner has hamstring and tendon pains.
Bruce has expressed concern that Andy Reid could be ruled out for the rest of the season with a calf injury while John Mensah and George McCartney (both hamstring) are still out.
On a positive note Alan Hutton (groin) was expected to train on Friday and could feature at Upton Park while Fraizer Campbell's good form could keep Kenwyne Jones on the bench.
Possible starting XIs
West Ham: Green, Upson, Spector, Da Costa, Spence, Kovac, Noble, Faubert, Stanislas, Cole, Ilan.
Sunderland: Gordon, Ferdinand, Kilgallon, Da Silva, Richardson, Cattermole, Meyler, Henderson, Malbranque, Bent, Campbell.
