West Ham v Tottenham preview

Thomas Hitzlsperger will not make his West Ham debut. It had been hoped the German would have recovered from a thigh injury but he remains sidelined along with long-term absentees Zavon Hines, Jack Collison and Peter Kurucz (all knee). Valon Behrami (knee) could return after missing the midweek Carling Cup win over Sunderland while Tal Ben-Haim is back in the squad after missing last Saturday's draw with Stoke to observe the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur. Luka Modric returns to the Tottenham squad as Harry Redknapp seeks to pile further misery on his former club. The Croatian midfielder missed Spurs' last three outings due to a foot injury but is available along with Rafael van der Vaart and Vedran Corluka, who have overcome groin and back injuries respectively. Heurelho Gomes has failed to recover from a groin injury while doubts remain over Benoit Assou-Ekotto, who is carrying a knee injury. Ledley King is likely to be rested ahead of next week's Champions League tie with FC Twente while Jermaine Jenas and Alan Hutton are likely to retain their places in the starting XI after impressing against Wolves last week. West Ham (from): Green, Jacobsen, Tomkins, Upson, Ilunga, Parker, Noble, Piquionne, Boa Morte, Dyer, Cole, Obinna, Kovac, Faubert, Stech, Barrera, Ben Haim, Gabbidon, Da Costa, Reid. Tottenham (from): Cudicini, Assou-Ekotto, Huddlestone, Palacios, Lennon, Corluka, King, Crouch, Alnwick, Hutton, Naughton, Kranjcar, Caulker, Bassong, Modric, Van der Vaart, Bentley, Jenas, Sandro, Pavlyuchenko, Bentley, Dos Santos, Keane, Pletikosa.