Preview - Hull Vs West Ham

Another round down after a 3-2 victory over Cardiff has earned us a next round tie against Burnley, we couldn't have got a much better draw there. The win was well earned and showed some good courage to fight back a grab a win after squandering a 2-0 lead after only 8 minutes. 

It was nice to see Ravel on the score sheet again, another eye catching performance from the youngster. And I was happy to see Jarvis get a goal, however sloppy it was. 

Back to the league and what we really need is to bounce back strong after the Everton defeat. Points are slipping away from us again already. Some squad depth is much needed. Last year we ending up not coming away with the right result after leading Arsenal, Spurs, Liverpool and Man Utd. It happened again last Saturday and for me this is down to a lack of squad depth. Throwing Matty Taylor on with 20 minutes to go is not doing us any favors. (Sorry Matt)

After the season started off so brightly, we’re now staring a must-win game square in the face. A trip to Hull wasn’t exactly the type of game we expected to be worrying about so early on in the campaign.

Mark Noble returns to the side after serving his one-game suspension against Cardiff City on Tuesday night.

Stewart Downing has overcome a dead-leg suffered last month against Stoke City and will be in the squad, while Guy Demel also returns after his thigh injury.

Joe Cole is not quite ready for first-team action, while Andy Carroll is out for the long-term.

The news on  Carroll is less definite. Statements like ”He’s improving day by day at the moment but we’re not putting any timescales on this at all until we see how he’s progressed with the specialists in Belgium. He’ll be back with us as soon as possible” do not fill me with much hope to be honest. I just hope to God we do not have another Dean Ashton situation unfolding here. Ravel Morrison is our shining light at the minute; I'm sure you will all agree.

The hosts are without James Chester has been ruled out for eight weeks with a hamstring problem, while captain Robert Koren will also miss out through an ankle problem.

Maynor Figueroa and Paul McShane are expected to return to the side after compassionate leave and a hamstring injury respectively.

It’s going to be a tough ask to get all three points but, if we play the way have done in our last two outings, there’s every chance of securing a very rare win away from Upton Park.

It's going to be a tough day out and a win is vital, I predict it will be a hard earned smash and grab 0-1 victory for the Hammers.

COYI