Carling Cup third round
Bolton Wanderers v West Ham United
Reebok Stadium
Tuesday 22 September 2009
8pm
Referee: Howard Webb
• West Ham United travel to meet Gary Megson's Bolton Wanderers for the fifth League Cup meeting between the two clubs.
• Gianfranco Zola said: "It's very important and we take it very seriously. We want to go ahead in that competition so we will try to win the game."
• Bolton Wanderers manager Gary Megson said: "Since I have been here, I have changed teams for cup ties and each and every time the players that tell me they should be in the first team don't deliver when they are in. I'm not sure exactly what team will be put out, so we'll have a look to see what knocks we have picked up on Monday."
• West Ham go into Tuesday's game looking for their first victory since knocking Millwall out in the second round on Tuesday 25 August. Since then, the Hammers have drawn 0-0 at Blackburn Rovers and lost out narrowly to Wigan Athletic (0-1) and Liverpool (2-3).
• This is the fifth League Cup meeting between the two clubs since the competition began in season 1960/61. Both sides have progressed to the next round on two occasions. West Ham won a third-round tie 4-1 in October 1967 and a second-round tie 7-2 in September 1968, both at the Boleyn Ground. Bolton hit back by winning a fourth-round tie 3-1 in east London in November 1994, before scoring a 1-0 victory in the third round in October 2005.
• West Ham and Bolton also met in the 1923 FA Cup final, the first final played at Wembley. Bolton ran out 2-0 winners in front of an estimated crowd of 200,000.
• West Ham have reached the League Cup final twice in their history, losing out on both occasions. West Bromwich Albion ran out 5-3 aggregate winners in 1965/66, while Liverpool earned a 2-1 replay victory at Villa Park in 1980/81 after the initial game at finished 1-1 at Wembley.
• Bolton have also finished as League Cup runners-up twice, losing out 2-1 to Liverpool in 1995 and 2-1 to Middlesbrough in 2004.
Last time out
Saturday 19 September 2009
Barclays Premier League
West Ham United 2-3 Liverpool
West Ham United: Green, Faubert, Tomkins, Upson, Ilunga, Parker, Noble, Behrami, Diamanti, Hines, Cole
Subs not used: Kurucz, Spector, Payne, Nouble
Booked: Parker, Faubert, Cole
Goals: Diamanti 29 (pen), Cole 45
Saturday 19 September 2009
Barclays Premier League
Bolton Wanderers 1-1 Stoke City
Bolton Wanderers: Jaaskelainen, Samuel, Cahill, Knight, Steinsson (Klasnic 46), Ricketts, Muamba (Gardner 46), Taylor, McCann, Cohen, Davies
Subs not used: Al Habsi, O'Brien, Davis, Lee, Elmander
Booked: Samuel, Davies
Goal: Taylor 89 (pen)
West Ham United
• West Ham United will be eager to reach the fourth round of the Carling Cup for the second time in three seasons at the Reebok Stadium. In 2007/08, the Hammers reached the quarter-finals before going down 2-1 at home to Everton.
• The Hammers have won one, drawn one and lost one of the three away Barclays Premier League matches they have contested this season.
• West Ham have never won at the Reebok Stadium in nine attempts. Since Bolton moved to their new home in 1998, the Hammers have drawn twice and lost seven times at the Reebok.
• The pair met at the Reebok in a League Cup third-round tie on 26 October 2005. Mexico striker Jared Borgetti scored the only goal of the game after 64 minutes in front of a crowd of just 10,927.
• The same season, West Ham returned to Bolton for an FA Cup fifth-round tie on 18 February 2006. The game ended goalless, with the Hammers going on to win the replay 2-1 at the Boleyn Ground on the way to Wembley.
• West Ham's last away win at Bolton came in the shape of a 3-0 victory at Burnden Park on 18 November 1995. West Ham's goals that day came courtesy of Ian Bishop, Tony Cottee and Danny Williamson.
Bolton Wanderers
• Bolton go into Tuesday's tie on a season-high two-match unbeaten run, having followed up a 3-2 Barclays Premier League victory at Portsmouth with a 1-1 home draw with Stoke City on Saturday.
• Bolton were the first team to hand Gianfranco Zola a defeat as West Ham manager. The Trotters left the Boleyn Ground with a 3-1 victory on Sunday 5 October thanks to goals from Kevin Davies, Gary Cahill and Matthew Taylor.
• Bolton reached the Carling Cup third round courtesy of a 1-0 second-round victory at League One outfit Tranmere Rovers. Mark Davies scored his first goal for the club after 41 minutes at Prenton Park.
• The Trotters sit one place behind West Ham in the Barclays Premier League table in 17th position. Bolton have gained four points from five matches, but have a worse goal difference (-2) than the Hammers (-1).
• Midfielder Matt Taylor and Israel international Tamir Cohen are Bolton's joint top-scorers so far this season with two goals apiece.
• Bolton brought in a number of new players during the summer. Well-travelled midfielder Sean Davis joined on a free transfer after his contract at Portsmouth expired; full-back Sam Ricketts arrived from Hull City; experienced left-back Paul Robinson was signed on a season-long loan from West Bromwich Albion; central defender Zat Knight was snapped up from Aston Villa; South Korea international forward Lee Chung-Yong arrived from FC Seoul; Croatia striker Ivan Klasnic was brought in on loan from German side Werder Bremen.
Team news
• Gianfranco Zola looks set to name a strong squad for the trip to Bolton, with the likes of Guillermo Franco, Radoslav Kovac, Manuel Da Costa, Kieron Dyer and Jonathan Spector all possibly pushing for places at the Reebok Stadium.
• Czech Republic midfielder Kovac could replace Valon Behrami, who was withdrawn as a precautionary measure during Saturday's match and could be rested on Tuesday evening.
• Jamaican-born forward Zavon Hines, who is eligible to play for England as he holds a British passport, and Alessandro Diamanti could both keep their places after impressing against Liverpool, but Mexico striker Guillermo Franco is also set to be in the squad for the first time and could be handed his Hammers debut.
• It remains to be seen whether Tuesday's match has come too soon for Matthew Upson, who was taken off with a minor calf injury during Saturday's defeat. Chile forward Luis Jimenez and England Under-21 winger Junior Stanislas have both returned to training and all three look set to be fit for next Monday's Barclays Premier League trip to Manchester City.
• England midfielder Dyer and United States defender Spector could both be pushing for a starting place, while the likes of central defender Da Costa, midfielder Josh Payne and forward Frank Nouble could all be involved.
• Bolton could hand a start to Jamaica international Ricardo Gardner after the left-winger came through 45 minutes against Stoke on Saturday. The 30-year-old had suffered a hamstring problem in pre-season.
• Sean Davis and central defender Andy O'Brien were both named on the substitutes' bench against Stoke on Saturday after recovering from knee and groin injuries respectively.
• Portuguese forward Ricardo Vaz Te could also feature after recovering from injury and taking part in training last week.
• Right-back Joey O'Brien will be sidelined for around four months with a serious knee injury.
Referee
• Tuesday's referee will be Howard Webb.
• Webb began officiating in Yorkshire in 1989, moving on to the Northern Counties East League four years later.
• Webb was appointed as a Football League assistant referee in 1996, fulfilling the same role in the Barclays Premier League in 1998.
• The 38-year-old took charge of his first Barclays Premier League match as a referee in October 2003, and has since been the man-in-the-middle for a host of high-profile fixtures.
• Webb refereed the 2005 FA Community Shield, 2006 FA Trophy final and 2006 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, as well as taking charge of his first UEFA Champions League match in 2006.
• The former police officer was referee for the 2007 Carling Cup final and was selected as England's representative at Euro 2008, taking charge of the first match of the tournament between Austria and Poland and the Group D fixture between Greece and eventual champions Spain.
• Last season, Webb was in charge of three West Ham United matches, the 3-0 loss at Manchester City in August, the 2-0 home win over Hull City in late January, and the 2-1 final-day victory over Middlesbrough in May.
• Webb took charge of the 2009 FA Cup final at Wembley and is on the provisional list of referees for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
Last meeting
• The teams met at the Reebok Stadium on 21 February this year, with Bolton running out 2-1 winners. West Ham fell two goals down early on through Matthew Taylor and Kevin Davies before losing James Collins to injury. Despite those setbacks, the Hammers launched a stirring second-half fightback and reduced their arrears through Scott Parker, but an equaliser proved to be elusive.
• The lineups were:
West Ham United: Green, Spector (Sears 85), Collins (Tomkins 16), Upson, Ilunga, Behrami, Parker, Noble, Collison (Savio 62), Cole, Di Michele
Subs not used: Lastuvka, Lopez, Kovac, Tristan
Booked: Upson, Noble
Goal: Parker 66
Bolton Wanderers: Jaaskelainen, Steinsson, Cahill, Puygrenier (A.O'Brien 73), Samuel, K.Davies, M.Davies, McCann, Gardner, Taylor, Elmander (Muamba 76)
Subs not used: Al Habsi, Smolarek, Makukula, Shittu, Basham
Goals: Taylor 10, K.Davies 11
Attendance: 21,245
Old boys
• Among those players who have represented both clubs are Frank Costello, George Eccles, Thomas Kinsell and William Yenson.
Head to head
Last six meetings (Premier League unless stated)
21 February 2009 - Bolton Wanderers 2-1 West Ham United
5 October 2008 - West Ham United 1-3 Bolton Wanderers
12 April 2008 - Bolton Wanderers 1-0 West Ham United
4 November 2007 - West Ham United 1-1 Bolton Wanderers
5 May 2007 - West Ham United 3-1 Bolton Wanderers
9 December 2006 - Bolton Wanderers 4-0 West Ham United
Overall record v Bolton Wanderers (all competitions) W 22 D 10 L 30
Next up
• West Ham United will travel to Manchester City for a live ESPN-televised Barclays Premier League fixture on Monday 28 September, with kick-off at 8pm.
• Bolton Wanderers will travel to Birmingham City for a Barclays Premier League fixture on Saturday 26 September, with kick-off at 3pm.
General information
• Supporters should note that tickets will be available to purchase on the night at the Reebok Stadium, priced at £12 adults and £5 for over-65 and under-21s. Fans wishing to buy concession tickets should take identification with them to the game.
• For directions to the Reebok Stadium, click here.
• Tuesday's weather forecast is for light rain, with a maximum daytime temperature of 17C.
• The draw for the Carling Cup fourth round will be held on Saturday 26 September. The fourth round ties will be played during week commencing 26 October.