Burnley Vs West Ham United
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DATE: Sat 6 Feb 2010
TIME: 15:00
VENUE: Turf Moor
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New signing Danny Fox faces a late fitness test to see if he will be able to make his Burnley debut against West Ham.
Fox arrived at Turf Moor still nursing a groin strain he sustained at his previous club Celtic but the defender trained with his new team-mates this week and could feature.
Fellow new recruit Jack Cork will also be hoping to make his first appearance after joining on loan from Chelsea.
David Nugent is available again after missing the 2-1 defeat against Chelsea while negotiations were being finalised about extending his loan deal from Portsmouth.
Kevin McDonald and Christian Kalvenes should be fit despite coming off with knocks during the Chelsea match while Chris McCann is back in training after his knee injury and Stephen Jordan is also pushing to be in contention having spent a fortnight out with a hamstring strain.
Steven Caldwell (groin) and Graham Alexander (calf) are still sidelined.
Burnley boss Brian Laws accepts his six January signings have something to prove.
Laws has brought in Leon Cort, Fox, Frederic Nimani, Nicky Weaver and Cork and has extended Nugent's loan as he attempts to haul the club to safety.
He said: "It's a massive motivational factor and I like the fact people have got something to prove because I know I'm going to get everything out of them.
"They are coming here for the right reasons rather than the wrong reasons, so they were prime targets for me."
West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola faces a selection headache.
Zola has gone from having limited attacking options to a choice of six strikers following the club's transfer dealings in the January window.
The Hammers signed forwards Benni McCarthy, Mido and Ilan prior to Monday's transfer deadline.
Mido and McCarthy are expected to feature but Danny Gabbidon, Guillermo Franco and Kieron Dyer (all hamstring) are ruled out.
Ahead of the game, West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola has tipped defender Matthew Upson to make
Fabio Capello's England squad for this summer's World Cup finals.
The Hammers fended off interest in the 30-year-old during the transfer window from a number of rivals in the Barclays Premier League.
Zola and the club's new owners, David Sullivan and David Gold, see retaining the likes of Upson and goalkeeper Robert Green as a major coup for the club.
And the Italian, believes Upson can secure his place on the plane to South Africa with some excellent
performances for West Ham.
Zola said: "I think he has been playing very well. He didn't perform as well as he could at the start but now he's one of the best players I've had.
"His mental strength is getting better and better. I know he has two very good players in front of him [in the England team], it depends on the condition of those players.
"He knows the World Cup comes through the performances he has with West Ham."
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