West Ham United v Sunderland [Premier League]
West Ham striker Andy Carroll is back in light training but is not ready to return from a hamstring injury.
Boss Sam Allardyce will use Carlton Cole and Modibo Maiga in his absence, while midfielder Jack Collison remains sidelined by an ongoing knee problem.
Sunderland winger Adam Johnson is likely to miss out as he is making a slow recovery from a thigh injury.
Carlos Cuellar is absent with a hamstring strain, and Phil Bardsley and Wes Brown are still short of fitness.MATCH PREVIEW
This fixture proves how quickly football clubs evolve.
In the 16 months since they last met, both have changed their managers and their playing personnel has altered so dramatically that only three of the 22 players who started in May 2011 are also likely to start this time - and all three are Sunderland employees.
The Hammers have even faced a season in the Championship in the meantime and, stung by their demotion, have invested in experience to ensure they don't suffer that fate again.
In Sam Allardyce, they not only hired a manager who fulfilled their first target of an immediate return to the Premier League but who also knows what it takes to keep them there.
Having guided Bolton to four top-eight finishes in his last four years in charge there, it was perhaps unsurprising that he has hired a number of ex-Wanderers at Upton Park. Jussi Jaaskelainen has already kept three clean sheets, Kevin Nolan has followed last season's 13 goals with two more, Ricardo Vaz Te hit the winning goal in the play-off final among the 12 he's scored in 2012, and defender Joey O'Brien has clocked up almost 40 appearances and forced his way back into the Republic of Ireland squad.
Victory against Sunderland will take them into double figures after five games, something it took them 15 games to achieve two years ago.
The visitors arrive seeking their first win since March; their 11-game winless run represents Martin O'Neill's worst as a top-flight boss. Eight draws in that time at least proves their solidity.LINE-UPS West Ham v Sunderland
West Ham:
Sunderland: .
Referee:
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
- Sunderland have won once in five attempts at Upton Park in the Premier League. That came in the last meeting between the two clubs, a 3-0 win in May 2011.
- In 82 matches between the two clubs across all competitions, West Ham have the edge with 32 wins to Sunderland's 30.
West Ham
- They have lost just twice in their past 25 games.
- The Hammers have kept three clean sheets from four Premier League matches so far this season.
- Sam Allardyce's team have only lost once at Upton Park this year, a 4-2 defeat by Reading in March.
- James Collins will be playing in the 150th Premier League game of his career.
Sunderland
- Sunderland are winless in their last 11 league matches, equalling Martin O'Neill's longest run without a victory as manager in the division.
- They have drawn eight of those 11 matches.
- Steven Fletcher has scored three goals in his first two league games for Sunderland - no other player has scored for the club this season in the Premier League.
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