West Ham United v Liverpool
Barclays Premier League
Boleyn Ground
Saturday 19 September 2009
5.30pm
Referee: Andre Marriner
Introduction
• West Ham United play host to Liverpool looking for their first home Barclays Premier League win in what will be their fifth league game. It will be no easy task with Rafael Benitez's side, who are on a run of three straight wins in all competitions.
• The club have designated Saturday's match as the annual game to raise awareness and funds for the Richard House Children's Hospital. For more information, click here.
• The match comes a year and four days after Gianfranco Zola's first game in charge of the Hammers. The West Ham United manager will be hoping for a repeat of his first game in charge - a 3-1 home victory over Newcastle United.
• The Hammers sit in 13th place of the fledgling Barclays Premier League standings with four points from four matches, while Liverpool are five points ahead in fifth having played a game more.
• West Ham are looking to complete the season unbeaten against Liverpool for the first time since 1998/99, when the Hammers won 2-1 at the Boleyn Ground and drew 2-2 at Anfield.
• This is the 104th league meeting between the two sides. Liverpool have won 54, West Ham have won 21 and there have been 29 draws.
• Saturday's match will be screened live by ESPN, the second time West Ham have been shown on the new channel. The Hammers' next league game, Manchester City away, will also be shown live on ESPN.
Last meeting
• The last meeting between the teams saw an easy victory for Liverpool as they romped to a 3-0 win at the Boleyn Ground on 9 May. The Hammers were without Valon Behrami, Scott Parker and Carlton Cole that day. The victory sent the Reds back to the top of the Premier League.
The two teams that day were:
West Ham United: Green, Neill, Tomkins, Upson, Ilunga, Boa Morte (Payne 80), Kovac, Noble, Stanislas (Collison 59), Di Michele (Sears 70), Tristan
Subs: Lastuvka, Spector, Lopez, Savio
Liverpool: Reina, Arbeloa, Carragher, Skrtel, Aurelio (Insua 54), Lucas, Mascherano, Benayoun (Dossena 82), Kuyt, Gerrard, Torres (Babel 72)
Subs: Cavalieri, Hyypia, Degen, Ngog
Last time out
Saturday 12 September 2009
Barclays Premier League
Wigan Athletic 1-0 West Ham United
West Ham United: Green, Faubert, Tomkins, Upson, Gabbidon, Noble (Nouble 87), Parker, Kovac (Behrami 63), Stanislas (Diamanti 63), Hines, Cole
Subs: Kurucz, Spector, Da Costa, Payne
Wednesday 16 September 2009
UEFA Champions League
Liverpool 1-0 Debrecen
Liverpool: Reina, Johnson, Insua, Carragher, Skrtel, Gerrard, Riera (Babel 80), Benayoun (Mascherano 87), Lucas, Torres, Kuyt (Aurelio 90)
Subs: Cavalieri, Kyrgiakos, Spearing, Voronin
Goal: Kuyt 45
Referee
• Saturday's referee is Andre Marriner, who was in the man in the middle for the Barclays Asia Trophy defeat by Tottenham Hotspur in Beijing on 29 July.
• Andre Marriner began refereeing in 1992, progressing through the Birmingham Amateur Football League and Southern League to take his place as a Football League assistant referee in 2000.
• Marriner became a Football League referee in 2003, before taking charge of his first Premier League fixture, Charlton Athletic versus Norwich City, the following year.
• Still only 38, the official joined the Select Group of officials in 2005.
• Last season, Marriner took charge of two West Ham United fixtures, both away from home. He was the man in the middle for the 2-1 win at Fulham in Gianfranco Zola's third match as Hammers manager, as well as the 1-1 draw at Middlesbrough on 1 November.
• This season, Marriner has been invited to join the list of FIFA international referees.
Old boys
• Liverpool and Israel midfielder Yossi Benayoun made 72 appearances, scoring eight goals, during two seasons at West Ham United. Benayoun, who turned 29 on 5 May, arrived from Spanish side Racing Santander in the summer of 2005 before leaving for Anfield in July 2007.
• Glen Johnson, 25, came through the ranks at West Ham, making 15 league appearances in the 2002/03 season. He was transferred to Chelsea for £6m in summer 2003 and subsequently moved on to Portsmouth before Liverpool snapped him up in June 2009.
• Liverpool and Argentina defensive midfielder Javier Mascherano spent half-a-season with West Ham United between August 2007 and January 2008. The 24-year-old made seven appearances in all competitions for the Hammers.
• Among the other players who have represented both clubs are Craig Bellamy, Tom Bradshaw, David Burrows, Titi Camara, Charles Cotton, Julian Dicks, Ray Houghton, Don Hutchison, Paul Ince, David James, Rob Jones, George Kay, Mike Marsh, Neil Mellor, Neil Ruddock, Danny Shone, Rigobert Song and Thomas Stanley.
Last six meetings (Premier League unless stated)
9 May 2009 West Ham United 0-3 Liverpool
1 December 2008 Liverpool 0-0 West Ham United
5 March 2008 Liverpool 4-0 West Ham United
30 January 2008 West Ham United 1-0 Liverpool
30 January 2007 West Ham United 1-2 Liverpool
26 August 2006 Liverpool 2-1 West Ham United
Overall record v Liverpool (all competitions) W 23 D 34 L 61
West Ham United
• Gianfranco Zola said: "I will take all the consideration that is necessary to prepare for the game. I know they have good players and I am trying to limit them as much as we can then we will progress and play our football. Our priority will be to play our football."
• West Ham United have had two home games this season. They lost 2-1 at home to Tottenham Hotspur on 23 August - with Carlton Cole putting the Hammers in front - before needing extra time two days later to see off Millwall 3-1 in the Carling Cup second round. The Lions were defeated thanks to two goals from Junior Stanislas and a decisive third from Zavon Hines.
• It is just over four months since Liverpool left the Boleyn Ground with a win after putting three past the helpless Robert Green. However, West Ham do not have to look too far back for their last home win over Sunday's visitors as a last-minute Mark Noble penalty in January last year earned a 1-0 victory.
• West Ham's biggest home win over Liverpool came on 1 September 1930. The Hammers went top of the old First Division as Vic Watson scored four times, Stanley Earle twice and Wilf James once in a 7-0 victory at the Boleyn Ground. A crowd of 14,000 was in attendance.
• Green has played 92 consecutive Barclays Premier League games - more than any other player in the top flight currently. All being well, he will reach his unbroken century away to Hull City on Saturday 21 November.
• Three players, Mark Noble, Matthew Upson and Carlton Cole have got on the league scoresheet for the Hammers so far this season.
• The Hammers finished last season in ninth in the Barclays Premier League with 51 points, a place and two points higher than they managed in the previous season.
• Cole was West Ham's leading scorer last season with ten Premier League goals, one in the FA Cup and one in the League Cup.
• The Hammers sit on 700 Premier League points, with the draw at Ewood Park taking them to that milestone.
• Alessandro Diamanti appearance as a substitute at the DW Stadium last weekend saw him become the 800th player to represent West Ham. Fabio Daprela, Davide Ferrari and Manuel Da Costa could all be in contention to become the 801st on Saturday.
• West Ham have a Carling Cup third-round tie to look forward with a trip to the north-west on Tuesday 22 September to take on Bolton Wanderers. They return to league action six days later with the trip to Eastlands to face Manchester City.
Liverpool
• Liverpool's biggest win at the Boleyn Ground came on 6 September 1965, when the Reds left the Boleyn Ground with a 5-1 victory. Roger Hunt netted a three-minute hat-trick either side of half-time for Liverpool, while Gordon Milne and Ian Callaghan also scored as the Reds went in 4-0 up at half-time. Martin Peters got on the scoresheet for the home side on 53 minutes. Twice, in 1976/77 and 2007/08, Liverpool secured 4-0 wins in east London.
• Two Liverpool players, Jamie Carragher and Dirk Kuyt, made their debuts against West Ham. Carragher's first appearance came at Anfield in January 1997, while Kuyt's came at Anfield in August 2006.
• Striker Fernando Torres scored a hat-trick against West Ham in Liverpool's 4-0 win at Anfield on 5 March last year.
• Torres leads the goalscoring charts with Yossi Benayoun this season. Both players currently have three goals. Benayoun's all came courtesy of a hat-trick against Burnley last weekend.
• Glen Johnson and Steven Gerrard have three assists each this season - the joint highest in the Premier League
• The Reds have also had the most shots on target than any other team - 51 in five games.
• Liverpool enter the Carling Cup at the third-round stage on Tuesday night when they travel to Leeds United.
Team news
• Alessandro Diamanti will make his full debut after a making a good impression as a second-half substitute at Wigan Athletic last weekend.
• Valon Behrami is also pushing for a start after returning from injury at Wigan. The Switzerland midfielder had not figured since suffering cruciate knee ligament damage in a 1-0 home win against Manchester City on Sunday 1 March 2009.
• Herita Ilunga could return to action for the first time since suffering a jaw injury in the 2-0 opening-day win at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
• Kieron Dyer, Jack Collison and Luis Jimenez all sat out last week with Dyer thought to be the closest to a return this weekend.
.• Mexico striker Guillermo Franco is not yet ready to take part following his arrival at the club in midweek but could figure at Bolton on Tuesday night.
• Young full-backs Davide Ferrari and Fabio Daprela, 17 and 18 respectively, could be named in Zola's squad after playing in the midweek 0-0 reserve-team draw with Wolves at Bishop's Stortford.
• Only Dean Ashton (ankle) and Luis Boa Morte (knee) are not training with the first team at Chadwell Heath. Ashton is working on a personal programme on an injury he suffered almost exactly a year ago in training - on Monday 15 September 2008 - and there is no date set for his likely return. Boa Morte is recovering from surgery and is set to stay in his native Portugal to focus on his rehabilitation until October.
• Reserve-team forward Terry Dixon has overcome his knee problems but is not yet thought to be ready to take part in matches as he has not played competitively since March 2008.
• Liverpool will be without new signing Alberto Aquilani, who is still recovering from a serious ankle injury. The Italy midfielder received treatment for the injury at Chadwell Heath while still an AS Roma player earlier this year.
• Denmark defender Daniel Agger, who has a back problem, is ruled out of Saturday's fixture. Defender Fabio Aurelio and forward Nabil El Zhar are both fit again after knee injuries.
Travel information
• Supporters should note that the Hammersmith and City line and the District line will be shut between Barking and Whitechapel on Saturday 19 September. This means that Plaistow, Upton Park and East Ham tube stations will have no London Underground service running to them.
• The club can confirm that signs will be erected along the route from Barking, Canning Town and Forest Gate stations to the stadium for those able to complete their journey by foot. The average walk is estimated to be around 35 minutes.
• For further information and journey planning, please visit the Transport for London website at tfl.gov.uk
General information
• Tickets for this game are now sold out. For more information, click here.
• Saturday afternoon's weather forecast is for heavy rain showers with a maximum daytime temperature of 24C.