Napoli preview

Bobby Moore Cup
West Ham United v SCC Napoli
Saturday 8 August
3pm
Referee: Keith Stroud

WHUTV - LIVE COVERAGE I BOBBY MOORE FUND

West Ham United play host to SCC Napoli in the second annual Bobby Moore Cup on Saturday - the club's final pre-season friendly before the start of 2009/10 Barclays Premier League season. Tickets will be available on the day.

* The new campaign will begin with a trip to top-flight newcomers Wolverhampton Wanderers next Saturday. The first home game will be against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday 23 August, the same day as Napoli begin their Serie A programme away to Palermo.

* If the scores are level after 90 minutes then a penalty shoot-out will be held to decide the winner. Stephanie Moore MBE will present the trophy to the victorious captain. Last year's inaugural Bobby Moore Cup against Villarreal finished in a 1-1 draw, with the teams sharing the trophy.

* Before the match, guest of honour Sir Trevor Brooking will be presented to the teams. The match marks the official renaming of the Centenary Stand in his honour, joining the Bobby Moore Stand at the Boleyn Ground in being named after a club great.

* It will be the first meeting between the two teams and it is sure to be a special day for manager Gianfranco Zola as he leads the Hammers against the club he represented for four years, making 105 appearances and scoring 32 goals.

* Zola played alongside Diego Maradona in the Napoli team that won the Scudetto in 1989/90. He said: "I have so many wonderful memories about playing with Maradona. The first time I trained with him was fantastic for a young player like me. He just started juggling the ball and keeping it up using every single part of the body. He was such an unbelievable player, he could do whatever he wanted with the ball and he had total control."

* Zola's men have enjoyed a promising pre-season so far, winning two, drawing three and losing one. After a young side opened the campaign with a 2-1 win at Grays Athletic, the Hammers drew all three games on the Austrian tour before defeat by Tottenham Hotspur in the semi-final of the Barclays Asia Trophy ended their unbeaten start. A 2-0 win against Beijing Guoan eight days ago ensured West Ham secured third place in the Asian showpiece.

* Napoli have been in good shape themselves with three wins and a draw in their pre-season games. The most recent was a goalless draw with Spanish side Espanyol in Naples on Thursday.

Last time out

31 July 2009
Beijing Guoan 0-2 West Ham United
West Ham United: Green, Spector, Tomkins, Gabbidon, Ilunga ('Gala 66), Dyer (Savio 85), Noble (Spence 90), Parker, (Payne 79) Collison (Stanislas 72), Jimenez (Hines 79), Cole
Subs: Kurucz, Stech, Upson, Collins, Faubert

6 August 2009
SCC Napoli 0-0 Espanyol
Napoli: De Sanctis, Campagnaro (Aronica 57), Cannavaro, Contini (Rinaudo 46), Grava (Maggio 46), Gargano (Blasi 57), Cigarini (Bogliacino 46), Hamsik (Datolo 57), Vitale (Rullo 57), Lavezzi (Hoffer 46), Quagliarella (Denis 64)

Team news

* Luis Jimenez is in line to make his first appearance at the Boleyn Ground after his loan move from Internazionale with a view to a permanent transfer back in June. The Chilean attacker has spent his first week training at Chadwell Heath after the trips to Austria and China.

* Two others who could make their Boleyn bows are left-back Fabio Daprela and striker Frank Nouble who have signed permanent long-term deals from Grasshopper Club Zurich and Chelsea respectively.

* Danny Gabbidon, on his 30th birthday, could be set to make his first appearance at the Boleyn Ground since December 2007. The Wales international has been sidelined with abdominal and back injuries for the last 18 months but has played a full part in pre-season.

* Hammer of the Year Scott Parker is also fit to return alongside Kieron Dyer and Jack Collison, meaning Zola has a fully-fit midfield to choose from aside from Luis Boa Morte, who is out until the New Year with a knee injury suffered in China, and Valon Behrami who is close to a return from his own knee problem.

* In attack, Carlton Cole is expected to lead the line, but promising youngsters Zavon Hines and Nouble, who have both been in goalscoring form so far this pre-season are in with a chance of featuring. Dean Ashton and Terry Dixon will miss out but they are making good progress.

* Freddie Sears is on a season-long loan to Crystal Palace.

General information

For ticket information, click here. For latest travel information click here.

Weather

The forecast is for a mainly sunny, warm day in London with top temperatures of 25 degrees.