FC Basel test tonight

West Ham United will complete their six-day stay in Switzerland by facing Super League champions FC Basel on Wednesday evening.

The Hammers will take on Switzerland's best club side in the final match of the Uhren Cup pre-season tournament in Grenchen.

West Ham will be eager to record a victory after being edged out 2-1 by BSC Young Boys on Monday, while RotBlau - Red and Blue - will look to build on their 3-0 win over German Bundesliga club Hertha BSC on the same evening.

Manager Sam Allardyce could give a number of his first-team players their first taste of pre-season action at the Bruhl Stadium, with new signing Kevin Nolan and fellow midfielder Jack Collison among those who could be involved.

"If we feel it necessary [we will use them]," Allardyce told West Ham TV. "I think it's more likely that we'll pencil them in to play against Bishop's Stortford when we get back home on Saturday. We don't want to push them into a game too early because it gives them a bigger risk of injury.

"Over the years, everybody knows that even with the improvement of sport science and conditioning that anybody who gets injured in pre-season finds it very hard to make up that level of fitness when the season starts. They would be playing catch-up for a long time.

"So preventing injuries is very important as well as improving fitness. If we don't feel it's necessary to risk them, we'll wait for Bishop's Stortford.

"If one or two have progressed quicker than we thought - they all want to play, but it's our expertise that guides us and sometimes we have to say 'No, you'll just have to wait'."

The young players who impressed in Monday's match could also get another run out, along with the likes of impressive triallist Joey O'Brien and new recruit Abdoulaye Faye (pictured), as Allardyce runs the rule over this squad ahead of the big npower Championship kick-off against Cardiff City on Sunday 7 August.

West Ham supporters will clearly accept nothing less than a winning start against the Bluebirds, and Allardyce knows exactly what is expected of him after meeting the club's supporters for the first time on Monday.

"Although it was just a training match they obviously wanted us to win and were very passionate," he said. "At the end of the day, I know exactly what they want and what they're looking for.

"They were disappointed that we lost because they're West Ham fans and I understand that, but it's the bigger picture that I'm talking about."

Basel will be no pushovers, having won the Super League title in three of the last four seasons and qualified for the UEFA Champions League group stage last term.

The Swiss are likely to include a host of international players in their starting lineup, including Switzerland internationals Benjamin Huggel, Marco Streller, promising youngster Xherdan Shaqiri and star striker Alexander Frei, as well as Australia midfielder Scott Chipperfield and former West Ham player Radoslav Kovac.

Basel looked confident in defeating Hertha on Monday evening, with Frei in typically predatory form. Switzerland's all-time leading scorer bagged a hat-trick in a comfortable success in front of the club's fanatical followers, many of whom stripped to the waist and lit flares behind the goal.

Thorsten Fink's side have also lifted the Uhren Cup on no fewer than eleven occasions and will do so again with victory over the Hammers.

The official website and the club's official twitter feed will have live updates from Wednesday's game, which kicks-off at 7.30pm local time (6.30pm UK time).

West Ham TV and whufc.com will have exclusive highlights and reaction from Switzerland.