PREVIEW: West Ham v Everton

Carlton Cole scored for the Hammers in this fixture last season and there will be a lot of West Ham fans out there (somewhere) wishing his was available for Saturday’s meeting at Upton Park this season.

But sadly the prospect of extending our goal drought to four games without finding the net is a real one for as long as Sam Allardyce remains short of options up front.

That is, perhaps, his own fault, despite insisting yesterday the he and the club tried their hardest to bring in a striker on loan before the transfer window closed. “Not hard enough” is the reply echoed amongst the Hammers faithful.

But, although Everton pulled off a fantastic 1-0 victory over Chelsea last weekend, they haven’t exactly been firing on cylinders this season either. Steven Naismith’s winner against the Blues was Everton’s first Premier League goal since the first day of the season, where they stuck two past Norwich City.

What we can be sure of, though, is the rest of our side can be relied upon to do their jobs. Defensively we have been impressive this season, with three clean sheets from four matches, while I can’t remember the last time our midfield had so much strength in depth.

But it’s goals that win you matches, and both sides can’t buy one at the moment. Goalless draw on the cards? For the sake of football alone, I sincerely hope not.

The big question for us this weekend, though, is whether we’ll get to see Mladen Petric in action. Allardyce hinted this week that he’s not quite ready but will definitely feature against Cardiff in the Capital One Cup on Tuesday night, but reports are suggesting he’ll at least be on the bench tomorrow. Let’s hope so.

Let’s also hope that James Collins doesn’t find himself with another golden chance to score, just as he did last weekend against Southampton, despite the club releasing footage of him having a ‘shooting competition’ in training the other day. A subtle hint at telling us they’re thinking of pencilling him in as cover for Maiga if all else fails with Petric? Are we that desperate?

Roberto Martinez has strengthened Everton with the arrivals of Romelu Lukaku and Gareth Barry, so we mustn’t be fooled by the absence of Marouane Fellaini. The former Wigan boss has got them playing just like Wigan did under him, but this time he has better players who are capable of winning football matches. So it’ll be a tough test for us, just as it always is against Everton.

Verdict: We need a win, but a draw will do. Just as long as it’s not goalless.

Team News:

West Ham United (10th, 5 points)

The Hammers are still without Andy Carroll, while Stewart Downing and Joe Cole remain sidelined.

George McCartney has returned to full training is not quite ready to feature, while Mladen Petric could make his West Ham debut from the bench.

Alou Diarra (knee) is the only long-term absentee for Sam Allardyce.

Everton (9th, 6 points)

Romelu Lukaku is expected to make his debut for Everton, while Arouna Kone is recovered from a knee injury in time to be considered.

Steven Pienaar’s hamstring problem could see him miss out, but Darren Gibson is fit.

Last five meetings:

Possible Starting Line-Ups:

Match in Numbers:

3 – The last three meetings between these sides have seen three red cards.

6 – The Hammers have managed just six shots on target all season, lower than any other Premier League side.

10 – Everton have not won in their last ten Premier League away games.

72 – West Ham have the worst passing accuracy (72%) in the top-flight so far this season.

11 – The Toffees are unbeaten in their last 11 games in all competition against West Ham (W7, D4).

1 – West Ham have managed just one point from their last five home meetings with Everton.

100 – If he plays, James Collins will make his 100th appearance in all competitions for the Hammers over two spells.

50 – If he plays, Ricardo Vaz Te will make his 50th West Ham appearance in all competitions.

Head-to-Head (all competitions)