Gianfranco Zola will have four key players at his disposal in his matchday squad for the visit of Liverpool to the Boleyn Ground on Saturday.
Herita Ilunga, Kieron Dyer, Valon Behrami could all return from injury while Alessandro Diamanti is in line for his full first-team debut. Diamanti has made quite an impact in two outings so far in claret and blue. After scoring a brace of free-kicks in a reserve game against Birmingham City, the Italian went close at Wigan Athletic last Saturday with another free-kick before hitting the post with a late effort.
"My impressions of him are very good," Zola said. "He came on for half an hour [at Wigan] and he was very good. He nearly scored from a free-kick and he hit a post so it was not a bad first impact on the Premier League.
"I know it is going to take time as he has been playing in Serie A and Serie B, which is a different level and a different pace. I expecting him to adapt to this league but it will take some time."
Zola believes that Diamanti has the kind of "craziness" that could endear him to the Boleyn Ground faithful. Those fans could get their first chance to view the new No32 in home league action as the West Ham United manager confirmed he will start.
"He has got some craziness in his eyes. I am expecting anything from him against Liverpool. He is one of those players that can make a mistake sometimes but on the other hand they can do something that nobody is expecting and I am looking forward to seeing him against Liverpool.
"In this world it is nice to sometimes have someone doing something different. Variety is important and I'm expecting from Diamanti a little bit of variety."
Zola is keen to pit his wits ideas against one of the 'top four' sides once more, but is determined that his side will not change their footballing philosophy against Rafael Benitez's side, who are on a three-match winning streak.
"I would like to focus on my game and how my team to play the best we can. That is my mentality and it was my mentality last year. We are going to try to keep it that way as well.
"We want to play our best football and hopefully it will be enough to win the game. I am not going to sacrifice my ideas for three points. I will ask the players to go on the pitch and play their own football as well as they can. We will play with good intentions and then we'll see. If Liverpool are better than us I will be the first one to shake their hands."
The Liverpool game has probably come too soon for new signing Guillermo Franco, but Zola is looking forward to working with the Mexican international.
"Well he's a main striker and he likes to play up in front sometimes on his own. He is very good at holding the ball and keeping the ball for the others. I'm expecting him to do well in the Premier League as he has all of the qualities to be successful over here.
"The first impression was very good as he is a very confident man and very focused. He knows what he wants and that is what I am looking for really. We need players with these qualities and I am looking forward to working with him.
"He is an international player so we are not talking about a simple player. I'm sure at the age of 32 and having played in other leagues he will give us experience that we need sometimes. Don't forget in this team I have been trying to create a balance of young players and experienced players."
After Calum Davenport gave an update to whufc.com to thank the club and fans for their support this week, the manager added his best wishes as the defender continues his recovery in hospital.
"I haven't had the chance to speak to him yet but I spoke to someone close to him and he is doing very well and he is getting better and better and that is good news for all of us."