Squad sheets: Stoke City v West Ham United

Some West Ham supporters may feel the timing of Yom Kippur, the Jewish holy day, to be unfortunate as it keeps their manager, Avram Grant, and the defender Tal Ben Haim away from a game they desperately need to at least draw following four defeats that has left the club in last place. Stoke's first victory of this campaign came with a rousing comeback to defeat Aston Villa 2-1 on Monday. They will fancy their chances of securing a second successive win in front of their always enthusiastic and raucous fans. Jamie Jackson Venue Britannia Stadium Tickets £30-£40 (0871 663 2007) Last season Stoke City 2 West Ham 1 Referee L Mason This season's matches 2 Y 8, R 0, 4.00 cards per game Odds Stoke Evens West Ham 10-3 Draw 12-5 Stoke Subs from Begovic, Whelan, Pugh, Whitehead, Gudjohnsen, Tuncay, Higginbotham, Fuller, Wilkinson, Tonge, Soares Doubtful None Injured Sidibe (achilles, May) Suspended None Form guide WLLL Disciplinary record Y8 R0 Leading scorer Faye, Jones, Fuller 1 West Ham Subs from Stech, Tomkins, Boa Morte, Hitzlsperger, Barrera, Sears, Spector, Kovac, Da Costa, Nouble, Piquionne, Stanislas, McCarthy, Faubert Doubtful Gabbidon (hamstring), Hitzlsperger (thing) Injured Hines (knee, Oct), Collison (knee, Nov), Kruz (knee, May) Yom Kippur Ben Haim Suspended None Form guide LLLL Disciplinary record Y8 R0 Leading scorer Parker, Noble 1 Match pointers • West Ham have lost their first four games in a league season for the first time, meaning that this is their worst start to a campaign • Only Swindon in 1993-94 (-12) have had a worse goal difference after four league games than the Hammers this season (-10) • Matthew Etherington has reached a team-mate with 12 crosses, a season high • Stoke have had the most shots from headers in the top flight this season (16) • West Ham have won none of their last 20 league away matches