Good afternoon and welcome to Sports Mole's coverage of the final day of the Premier League season as West Ham United take on Reading at Upton Park.

The Hammers have exceeded all expectations this season and survived the threat of relegation comfortably and can finish in the top-half of the Premier League with a win today.

Reading have struggled this season under Brian McDermott and their relegation was confirmed under new boss Nigel Adkins weeks ago following their draw with Queens Park Rangers. A point today for them will see them finish with some pride as they'll finish 19th rather than 20th in the table.

Team news is coming in from Upton Park and we'll start with the home side.

West Ham: Jaaskelainen, Demel, O'Brien, Collins, Reid, Noble, Diame, Nolan, J.Cole, Vaz Te, Carroll.

Reading: McCarthy, Gunter, Kelly, Gorkss, Morrison, McCleary, McAnuff, Guthrie, Karacan, Robson-Kanu, Pogrebnyak.

West Ham United boss Sam Allardyce makes three changes to his side that were beaten 2-0 by Everton last week. Gary O'Neil and Jack Collison are out and are replaced by Mark Noble and Joe Cole. While Ricardo Vaz Te replaces Matt Jarvis.

Reading boss Nigel Adkins makes just one change to his side that was beaten 2-0 by Manchester City in midweek. Kaspars Gorkss makes his first appearances for the Royals since December and replaces Adrian Mariappa in the lineup.

West Ham subs: Henderson, Tomkins, Collison, Maiga, Wellington Paulista, O'Neil, Taylor.

Reading subs: Taylor, Pearce, Mariappa, Le Fondre, Akpan, Carrico, Blackman.

Another note of interest about Kaspars Gorkss. The defender has spent the last few months on loan in the Championship with Wolverhampton Wanderers, who were relegated to League One. He'll be enduring his second relegation of his season today.

STAT ATTACK: Kevin Nolan is the Hammers leading goalscorer this season along with on-loan striker Andy Carroll with seven goals.

STAT ATTACK: Reading have the second worst defensive record in the Premier League after conceding 69 goals. Only Wigan Athletic (71) have conceded more.

This will be Andy Carroll's last game before his loan spell at the Hammers ends. Skipper Kevin Nolan wants him to stay at the club but it maybe one of those long drawn out transfer sagas that last the summer in this case, as Liverpool will want a sizable return on their £35m investment. Let's see if Carroll can go out on a high today.

Nigel Adkins will get to test some of his players out for the final time before they begin their Championship campaign next season. It shall be interesting how many of these players will be on the Royals' books come August.

We may see an open game here. Both teams have little to play for but both will want to end their respective campaigns on a high. And remember each place in the Premier League is worth a bit of cash, so the teams will not want to miss out on that.

PREDICTION: West Ham have been good at home this season and don't expect that to change today against the already relegated Royals. West Ham 3-0 Reading.

The players are making their way out onto the pitch and the game should be underway shortly.

We're underway at Upton Park.

Early pressure from West Ham but Reading clear the line and the danger is gone.

The Hammers are playing decent possession football so far with Mark Noble seeing a lot of the ball in the middle of the park on his return to the team.

West Ham win a free kick which James Collins pumps long into the box but Kaspars Gorkss is there to win the header in the penalty area and the visitors scramble the ball clear.

Half chance for Reading as the build up nicely down the left and Hal Robson-Kanu switches the ball to the right where he finds Chris Gunter, who lifts his cross to the back post for Jobi McAnuff who heads just over the bar.

CHANCE!! A great opportunity for Reading to take the lead as they pass the ball well down the right and Robson-Kanu lifts a good cross to the back post for Pavel Pogrebnyak who heads at goal but his low effort is well saved by Jussi Jaaskelainen.

Jem Karacan slides the ball into the feet of Garath McCleary who should take the ball in stride but he misses the ball and a chance to get behind the West Ham defence is wasted.

West Ham break straight upfield and the ball drops to the feet of Joe Cole, 25-yards from goal but he skies his shot well over the bar. Wasteful!

INTERVENTION! West Ham have a great chance to break upfield as they clear their lines from a corner and Vaz Te looks to get control of the ball but before he can Stephen Kelly makes a great intervention with a sliding tackle.

An end to end start to the game as neither team can control the ball for a sustained period of time.

SHOT! Reading work the ball down the left with McCleary and Karacan who squares his pass to Danny Guthrie who tries a right-footed effort which goes just wide of the post from 25-yards.

West Ham think they've got Diame in behind the Reading defence on the left but they're joy is shortlived as he's flagged for offside.

Reading have played some nice football so far and arguably should be in the lead if not for a good save from Jaaskelainen.

CHANCE!! Gunter gets in behind the West Ham defence on the right and opts to shoot from a tight angle but he fires his effort into the side netting. That was a chance!!

West Ham take the lead and it's Nolan whose left with a simple finish into an open goal after a horrendous mistake from Alex McCarthy who smacks his clearing kick straight into Carroll and Nolan collects the ball and slots it home.

GREAT SAVE!!! McCarthy redeems himself with an excellent reaction save from Nolan as he tips his header onto the bar and out after Carroll header had caused havoc in the area.

Carroll goes close again with a header from the resulting corner which goes just over the bar. West Ham are upping the ante now.

Reading denied a corner as Jaaskelainen allows the ball to slip beyond the line but the linesman isn't up with play and his mistake goes unnoticed.

Reading win a free kick 25-yards out on the right which Guthrie whips into the area with pace but Collins rises highest in the area and clears the danger.

West Ham doubled their lead and Vaz Te gets the goal with a fine finish into the bottom corner after a lovely move down the left as Diame whipped a cross into the area and Carroll took the ball out of the air and knocked it back to the striker who finished in style.

Reading look a bit shell shocked by that goal, they now look tense with the ball after they started the game so well.

Nolan thinks he's in again as he out-muscles Gunter on the right to win the ball but the referee blows his whistle for a foul before he can bare down on goal.

CHANCE!! Carroll causes mayhem upfront against as his knockdown goes to Vaz Te who drives at the Reading defence and fires a shot at goal which clips the post and is cleared.

CHANCE!! West Ham win the ball again and Noble knocks the ball long into Carroll who tees up Diame on the edge of the area but he shoots just over the bar.

SHOT! Another chance for West Ham as Diame cuts inside on his right foot and tests McCarthy with a drilled effort which he is equal to and he palms the shot away.

One minute of added time at Upton Park.

So after a tricky start to the game, West Ham have dominated since taking the lead through Kevin Nolan following a mistake from Alex McCarthy and Ricardo Vaz Te doubled that lead when he fired the ball through a crowd of players in the 34th minute.

It's been the story of Reading's season. They've played well in bursts but didn't get the goal when they were on top and an individual mistake cost them. Since then they've been under the cosh constantly.

Have your say on who you think should be in Sports Mole's Team of the Season. Follow the link here, to vote.

SUBS: Reading make two subs at the break as Adam Le Fondre and Nick Blackman replace Pavel Pogrebnyak and Hal Robson-Kanu.

We're back underway at Upton Park.

Solid start to the half by West Ham with two minutes of continuous possession, as they look to build on their two-goal lead.

Nolan is almost in again but he's flagged for offside as he tried to latch on Noble's through ball.

CHANCE! An opportunity for Reading as Karacan lines up a shot from the edge of the area which flies just over the bar with Jaaskelainen at full stretch.

Reading pull a goal back as McAnuff raids down the left and squares the ball to McCleary on the edge of the area who drills his shot which takes a deflection off Noble on its way past Jaaskelainen.

Reading are level! What a reaction in the second-half! Blackman races onto a ball over the top of the defence and he lifts the ball into the area with his left-foot, Reid can't get to the ball to clear it and Le Fondre nips in at the back-post to slide it home.

CHANCE!!! Carroll almost gives West Ham the lead again but his effort is beaten away by McCarthy after he was teed up inside the area by Nolan.

What a comeback from Reading in this half. Now they are first to every contested ball and look the more likely to get a winner.

West Ham win a free kick, which Noble lifts into the area but Gorkss beats Carroll in the air to clear the danger.

Reading hit the Hammers on the counter and McAnuff whips the ball out to Gunter on the right, who raids into the area and fires a cross, across the face of goal but no Royals player is there to turn it in.

Another counterattack from Reading as Guthrie breaks up the middle but he makes the wrong decision at the last moment as fails to slip the ball into Le Fondre and loses possession.

The game is stretched now as Carroll finds space on the left and his drills the ball into the area where Vaz Te was lurking but Kelly did well to clear it behind.

CHANCE!!! Kelly's pass only goes as far as Cole who drives forward but his effort is deflected wide for a corner.

Reading are giving as good as they are getting at the moment as McCleary raids forward yet again, and he fires at goal but it's tame and goes past the post.

West Ham regain the lead!! Nolan latches onto a ball over the top of the Reading defence and takes the ball in stride before dispatching the ball past McCarthy into the bottom corner. A nice composed finish.

That goal seems to have sapped the life out of Reading. They've battled so hard today but it seems yet again they're going to get nothing out of this game.

Some pressure from Reading now but Carroll and Collins rise high in the air to head the danger away from consecutive corners from the Royals.

CHANCE!!! The space is really opening up for West Ham now as Noble finds himself in all sorts of room upfront. He tries an effort but McCarthy makes the save.

HAT-TRICK FOR NOLAN!!!! Nolan completes his hat-trick with a simple headed finish from close range inside the six-yard box from Maiga's cross.

West Ham are in party mode now and Reading look like they just want the final whistle to blow.

Two minutes of added time at Upton Park.

CHANCE!!! Le Fondre has the chance to get a goal back for the Royals as he gets in down the left but he fires his effort straight at Jaaskelainen who makes the save.

That's it the Premier League season is over!!!

West Ham have signed off with a good home win over Reading, which secures their mid-table place in 10th place in the Premier League.

This game was all about Kevin Nolan and he took advantage of some questionable defending not net a hat-trick. He was a thorn in the side of the Royals all afternoon and duly deserved his goals. What a players he's been for the Hammers this season, with 10 goals, that surely have been the driving force for their excellent season this year.

Reading were the ultimate in Jekyll and Hyde today. Their attacking play was at times brilliant they showed character to fight back from two goals down. But in the end their awful defending cost them as they conceded four atrocious goals from a defensive point of view.

Looking at these teams as they were both promoted from the Championship last year, it's easy to see why the Hammers have survived and Reading haven't. West Ham have a solid base and a goal threat with Carroll and Nolan while the Royals have been poor at the back all season and have been over reliant on Le Fondre upfront.

Going forward the Hammers will need to strengthen to build on their momentum this year. 10 points seperated 8th from 18th in the Premier League, so there's a similar amount of quality around the bottom half of the league, so West Ham will need to ensure they are at the upper end of those teams rather than the lower. They can start by adding Carroll on a permanent basis. He's been so influential in the last few months of the season and he links so well with Nolan, that he must be top of the list for Allardyce this summer.

Reading will have to undergo squad changes as they drop into the competitive Championship. They have a good manager in charge and under Adkins, they should be one of the favourites for promotion next season.

Let's take a final look at the Premier League scores today from the last day of the season.

PREMIER LEAGUE FINAL SCORES:

Chelsea 2-1 Everton

Liverpool 1-0 QPR

Man City 2-3 Norwich

Newcastle 0-1 Arsenal

Southampton 1-1 Stoke

Swansea 0-3 Fulham

Spurs 1-0 Sunderland

West Brom 5-5 Man Utd

West Ham 4-2 Reading

In case you want to catch up all the action again, check out our report here.

Thanks for joining Sports Mole's coverage of today's game and the Premier League season. We'll be back for the 2013-14 season in August. A busy summer of transfer activity awaits. Until August, goodbye.