West Ham United will endeavour to climb out of the Premier League relegation zone when they welcome Nottingham Forest to the London Stadium on Saturday.
The Hammers currently sit 18th in the table, albeit just one point adrift of safety, while Forest are sitting five points clear of their opponents in 13th place.
Match preview
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The pressure continues to mount on West Ham manager David Moyes after his side suffered a 2-0 away defeat against London rivals Tottenham Hotspur last weekend, their 13th Premier League loss of the season.
The Hammers have won only one of their last 11 top-flight matches, a run dating back to October, and have subsequently slipped into the bottom three, but the Scotsman is expected to be given more time to turn their fortunes around as the club's hierarchy are understood to have no immediate plans to part ways with their current boss.
Not since the 2011-12 campaign have West Ham competed in the Championship, the same season that they last hosted a league contest against Nottingham Forest which ended 2-1 in the Hammers' favour courtesy of two Mark Noble penalties.
West Ham will welcome a return to the London Stadium this weekend having picked up 14 of their 20 Premier League points in front of their home supporters so far this season, including four points in their last two against Everton and Chelsea.
The Hammers also boast a strong home record against Forest, as they have only lost one of their 10 previous home meetings with the Tricky Trees, while they have also won seven of their last eight top-flight matches on their own turf against promoted sides, which bodes well ahead of Saturday's clash.
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Following an impressive unbeaten Premier League run in January, Nottingham Forest have since experienced a mixed spell of form in February, winning, drawing and losing one league game each.
A slender 1-0 home win over Leeds United was followed by a 2-0 away defeat against Fulham, before the Tricky Trees picked up a valuable point in a 1-1 draw with reigning champions Manchester City at the City Ground last weekend.
For all their possession, the Citizens were wasteful in attack and that proved costly as Chris Wood tapped in his first Forest goal six minutes from time to cancel out Bernardo Silva's first-half opener, extending their unbeaten home run to eight matches.
While Forest's home form has been a major plus to their season, Steve Cooper's side have struggled to pick up points on the road as they have won just once in 11 Premier League away matches, conceding 25 goals and scoring just three in the process.
The Tricky Trees have also lost both of their previous two visits to London this season by an aggregate score of 7-0 – losing to Fulham (2-0) and Arsenal (5-0) – but they did beat West Ham 1-0 in the reverse fixture back in August, and another resilient performance will be required if they wish to claim their first away victory against the Hammers for 37 years.
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West Ham have been boosted by the return of Lucas Paqueta (shoulder), Kurt Zouma (thigh) and Maxwel Cornet (calf) to training this week, but it remains to be seen whether the trio will be fit to feature in the matchday squad on Saturday.
Jarrod Bowen picked up a knock in the closing stages of the defeat against Spurs, but the attacker has since taken part in training and is expected to continue in the final third along with Michail Antonio.
Either Flynn Downes or Tomas Soucek could make way should Moyes decide to name a third attacker in his first XI, with Said Benrahma, Danny Ings and Gianluca Scamacca all pushing to start, while the rest of the side is expected to remain unchanged from last weekend.
As for Nottingham Forest, Serge Aurier is ruled out for between three and four weeks with a calf strain, and the right-back has been added to a lengthy injury list that includes Dean Henderson (thigh), Taiwo Awoniyi (groin), Giulian Biancone (knee), Omar Richards (leg), Cheikhou Kouyate, Moussa Niakhate, Scott McKenna and Willy Boly (all hamstring).
However, Ryan Yates (illness) and former West Ham loanee Jesse Lingard (knee) have both stepped up their recovery in training and may feature in the matchday squad on Saturday.
Forest have appealed the Premier League's decision to reject their request to register Steve Cook in their first-team squad, and with the defender unlikely to be involved on Saturday, Joe Worrall and Felipe are set to retain their partnership at centre-back.
Chris Wood will be hoping for a recall to the first XI after scoring his first Forest goal as a substitute last time out, and the New Zealander could join Brennan Johnson and Morgan Gibbs-White in attack.
West Ham United possible starting lineup:
Fabianski; Kehrer, Ogbonna, Aguerd; Coufal, Rice, Soucek, Emerson; Benrahma, Bowen; Antonio
Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:
Navas; Williams, Worrall, Felipe, Lodi; Danilo, Freuler, Shelvey; Gibbs-White; Johnson, Wood
We say: West Ham United 1-1 Nottingham Forest
While Nottingham Forest are not completely out of the relegation picture, the need to claim all three points is greater for a struggling West Ham side as they bid to climb out of the drop zone.
The Hammers will be regarded as slight favourites for Saturday's clash considering the respective home and away records of the two teams, but we believe that Forest will make life difficult for the hosts and force them to settle for a share of the spoils.
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Oliver Thomas
