PREMIER LEAGUE: UPTON PARK, WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 10, 2010. KICK-OFF: 1945 GMT
WEST HAM UNITED:
The arrival of new owners David Gold and David Sullivan at Upton Park last month was welcomed by Gianfranco Zola who immediately benefited from the club's increased spending power with the arrival strikers Mido, Benni McCarthy and Ilan on transfer deadline day.
It hasn't taken long, however, for cracks to appear in the relationship between the manager and his new employers with Zola unhappy at Sullivan's claim that all club employees – including Zola and his players – will be forced to accept 25% wage cuts this summer, irrespective of whether the club stays up or not.
The plan was revealed in an interview with The Sun newspaper and Zola made no attempt to disguise his frustration at the timing of Sullivan's comments.
"I think that article should have been done maybe at another time," said the manager. "Before a match like this it would have been better to say that at another time, and maybe to talk to us first before talking to a newspaper. That's my feeling about it.
"Personally I can say I'm not here for the money. I can remind you that when I signed a contract I didn't even know how much I was going to earn. I came here because I had a plan and a project and I liked what I was going to do.
And he added: "Am I annoyed? Look, it doesn't interest me. It really doesn't. They can talk about players as much as they want. But when an article comes before a match like this match, I'm not happy about that.
"I don't think it's any good for the whole team. I haven't spoken to them (the owners) about it. I just read the article this morning."
Strategy: The weekend defeat to fellow strugglers Burnley left the Hammers in the relegation zone and while there is still a third of the season to go, Zola's side know they must get something from each of their remaining home games. The squad now has more firepower, although the injury picked up by McCarthy at Turf Moor was ill-timed, and must now translate that into a more effective threat in front of goal.
The return of Alessandro Diamanti should improve the service to the forwards, but West Ham's future could hinge on how well they keep their nerve when presented with scoring opportunities.
Injury Update: McCarthy is out after picking up a knee injury at Turf Moor while hamstring victims Danny Gabbidon and Kieron Dyer are still short of match fitness.
BIRMINGHAM CITY:
After years of yo-yoing between the two divisions, Birmingham's excellent campaign has now forced their Premier League rivals to finally show some respect, according to defender Liam Ridgewell.
Ridgewell is convinced that Alex McLeish's stunning work at St. Andrew's this season now means that Blues are a team to be feared, as opposed to mere cannon fodder.
McLeish has masterminded a stunning run of only defeat in 17 games, ahead of this trip to relegation haunted West Ham. And Ridgewell claims Birmingham's rivals are now being viewed as one of the prized scalps in the division.
He said: "I think sides do fear us. They didn't when we first came up, they thought we might have been an easy team to beat, but people should know better than that now and hopefully we can get a lot more wins to the end of the season.
"A lot of people play differently against us now, Villa do it and Spurs the other night. With the reputation we've got we have to expect it. It's up to us to break teams down.
"West Ham are going to be scrapping for goals and a win. Especially at home, they've got a good crowd there and they'll be right behind them. We've got to keep our wits about us."
There will not be the expected fireworks in the Upton Park boardroom, after new Birmingham vice-chairman Peter Pannu made a conference call to former owners David Sullivan and David Gold.
Sullivan and Gold rowed with new chairman Carson Yeung after ending their 16-year spell at St. Andrew's but they have now ironed out their differences ahead of their first meeting.
Strategy: An injury to Christian Benitez will allow Kevin Phillips another chance to prove that he can still cut it in the Premier League at the age of 36. The fact that McLeish has not awarded Phillips more opportunities this season has been a mystery, despite the miracles he has worked at Birmingham.
But after his stunning late intervention against Wolves on Sunday, the former England striker will head into this game with renewed optimism. Incredibly, it will be the first time in 13 league games that McLeish has named a different starting XI. If Ridgewell is right about Birmingham now possessing a fear factor, these are the games they have to win.
Injury Update:
Benitez will miss this game with an ankle injury, after colliding with Wolves goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann on Sunday. Birmingham are also without Garry O'Connor (hip) and Lee Carsley (ankle).
