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Alan Pardew's men will look to put the FA Cup defeat to Fulham behind them and continue their fine recent form in the League.

Hammers captain Christian Dailly is doubtful after receiving 14 stitches midweek but Tomas Repka has been included in the squad after recovering from the illness that kept him out of the midweek FA Cup Replay.

Jon Harley, Nigel Reo-Coker, Adam Nowland, Jobi McAnuff and Bobby Zamora should all return for West Ham after being cup-tied while Steve Lomas is also
available to play.

Bluebirds' Alan Lee is poised for his first start in a Division One match for three months at Upton Park, if Peter Thorne fails to recover from a troublesome foot injury.

How they see it

Rob Lee (West Ham): "Cardiff are a dangerous team with some dangerous players of whom Earnshaw is one that I have been very impressed with and who we will have to watch very carefully.

"But I don't care who we play in this division; I think the majority of games we have drawn and lost this season we should have won."

Nigel Reo-Coker (West Ham): "This is when the real league actually kicks in now, when the pressure really starts to mount on the teams in the top two positions and in the play-offs.

"This is when you see which teams can hold their own and any team that has a good run in the last quarter has a good chance of being promoted.

"At the end of the day, if we work hard we stand a good chance of winning games."

Alan Pardew (West Ham): ""It is a massive game; we under no illusions that they are a tough cookie and in Kavanagh and Earnshaw they have got two of the top players in the division.

"I think Earnshaw will play in the Premier League and I am sure the Cardiff fans hope it is with Cardiff.

"As we found out, it doesn't always conspire that way, but he is a terrific player, and one we are certainly going to have to watch.

"With Gabbidon at the back we are going to have to be at our very best to beat them, but the team I put out on Saturday will be a strong side, there is no doubt about that."

West Ham United - squad: Bywater, Srnicek, Mullins, Repka, Melville, Dailly, Harley, Harewood, Carrick, Etherington, Connolly, Deane, Zamora, Reo-Coker, Horlock, Nowland, McAnuff, Ferdinand.

Last Meeting

Saturday, 25th October 2003 - Cardiff City 0 West Ham United 0

Opposition Website

Cardiff City Online

Verdict

I hope the Hammer bounce back from the midweek disappointment and I have a feeling we may just nick this one - but we must be wary of the in-form Robert Earnshaw.



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