Mon 1st Dec - Anfield
By James Pearson Last updated: 5th October 2008
Zola: Two Prem wins out of two
West Ham will be looking to continue their impressive start under new manager Gianfranco Zola against Bolton at Upton Park.
The Hammers have won both their league games under Italian tactician Zola after beating Newcastle at home and Fulham away.
The omens are against Bolton this weekend with Gary Megson's men failing to win any of their last 15 Premier League trips to the capital.
There are likely to be goals at Upton Park as West Ham have not kept a clean sheet in 11 meetings with Bolton and have gone 18 games overall without preventing the opposition from scoring.
Defender James Collins is back in contention for West Ham having successfully come through a reserve outing in midweek, although it is unlikely he will make an immediate return on Sunday.
Matthew Upson, Lucas Neill and Calum Davenport are all ahead of Collins in the pecking order while Danny Gabbidon is also back in first-team training, although he will not be considered against Bolton.
Carlton Cole and Italian David Di Michele are likely to retain their places up front, although Craig Bellamy is pushing hard for a start after coming off the bench against The Cottagers.
Striker Dean Ashton and Kieron Dyer remain long-term injury victims for Zola and will play no part for the foreseeable future.
Bolton performed well in their last outing at Manchester United and will need to shake off the injustice of the controversial penalty award if they are to return to winning ways.
Megson has a welcome selection headache with left-sided midfielder Matthew Taylor (broken toe) fit again, although Ricardo Gardner will be hoping to retain his place in the starting XI.
However, should Megson opt to change things around at left-back, either Taylor or Gardner could also come in for Jlloyd Samuel.
Kevin Davies and Johan Elmander are likely to be Bolton's strike force at Upton Park, although both Ebi Smolarek and Ricardo Vaz Te will be hoping to get the nod.
Possible starting XIs
West Ham: Green, Neill, Davenport, Upson, Ilunga, Faubert, Parker, Noble, Etherington, Di Michele, Cole.
Bolton: Jaaskelainen, Steinsson, Cahill, O'Brien, Samuel, Muamba, Nolan, McCann, Taylor, Davies, Elmander.
| Time | Fixture |
|---|---|
| Monday 8th December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 20:00 | West Ham vs Tottenham |
| Sunday 14th December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 16:00 | Chelsea vs West Ham |
| Saturday 20th December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 17:30 | West Ham vs Aston Villa |
| Friday 26th December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 13:00 | Portsmouth vs West Ham |
| Sunday 28th December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 14:00 | West Ham vs Stoke |
| Saturday 10th January | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Newcastle vs West Ham |
| Saturday 31st January | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Arsenal vs West Ham |
| Saturday 7th February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | West Ham vs Man Utd |
| Saturday 21st February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Bolton vs West Ham |
| Saturday 28th February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | West Ham vs Man City |
| Tuesday 3rd March | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 19:45 | Wigan vs West Ham |
| Time | Result |
|---|---|
| Monday 1st December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Liverpool 0 - 0 West Ham | |
| Sunday 23rd November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Sunderland 0 - 1 West Ham | |
| Saturday 15th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| West Ham 0 - 0 Portsmouth | |
| Saturday 8th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| West Ham 1 - 3 Everton | |
| Saturday 1st November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Middlesbrough 1 - 1 West Ham | |
| Wednesday 29th October | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Man Utd 2 - 0 West Ham | |
| Sunday 26th October | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| West Ham 0 - 2 Arsenal | |
| Sunday 19th October | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Hull 1 - 0 West Ham | |
| Sunday 5th October | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| West Ham 1 - 3 Bolton | |
| Saturday 27th September | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Fulham 1 - 2 West Ham | |
| Tuesday 23rd September | |
| Carling Cup | |
| Watford 1 - 0 West Ham | |
| Saturday 20th September | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| West Ham 3 - 1 Newcastle | |
| Saturday 13th September | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| West Brom 3 - 2 West Ham | |
| Saturday 30th August | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| West Ham 4 - 1 Blackburn | |
| Wednesday 27th August | |
| Carling Cup | |
| West Ham 4 - 1 Macclesfield | |
| Sunday 24th August | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Man City 3 - 0 West Ham | |
| Saturday 16th August | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| West Ham 2 - 1 Wigan | |
| Saturday 9th August | |
| Friendly Match | |
| West Ham 1 - 1 Villarreal | |
| Monday 4th August | |
| Friendly Match | |
| Ipswich 3 - 5 West Ham | |
| Friday 1st August | |
| Friendly Match | |
| Southampton 2 - 2 West Ham | |
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Wigan Athletic | 15 | 19 |
| 12 | Middlesbrough | 15 | 19 |
| 13 | West Ham United | 15 | 18 |
| 14 | Stoke City | 15 | 18 |
| 15 | Manchester City | 15 | 17 |
Arsenal and Bolton pick up the plaudits as Chris Kamara names his Premier League picks of the weekend.
London and Manchester served up derbies to remember but the North East failed to deliver.
Juventus midfielder Sebastian Giovinco has ruled himself out of a possible loan move to West Ham.
Keith Fahey is eager to repay Alex McLeish after turning down the chance to go on trial at other clubs.
Gianfranco Zola is confident that Robert Green's recent fine form will earn him an England recall.
Martin Tyler on why Sunday's defeat is bad news for Chelsea, records against the big four and Brad Friedel.
Matthew Upson admits he would be 'really frustrated' if West Ham sold key players in January.