Missing West Ham pair give Sam Allardyce chance to use his back-up players

 
Ken Dyer25 September 2012

West Ham will be missing midfield pair Alou Diarra and Yossi Benayoun for their Capital One third-round tie at home to Wigan tonight.

Diarra, who was signed from Marseille for around £2million during the summer transfer window, picked up a leg injury in training last week and is out of contention.

Israel international Benayoun, who is on a season-long loan from Chelsea, is unable to play because tonight’s match falls at the start of the Jewish holy festival of Yom Kippur, which includes a 25-hour period of fasting, prayer and no work.

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce has confirmed he will make changes for tonight’s tie but still intends to field a strong side against fellow Premier League opposition.

Mark Noble, who is due to sign a new long-term deal at Upton Park, could be included in Allardyce’s squad along with Ricardo Vaz Te, who started against Sunderland on Saturday, and striker Modibo Maiga, who came on as a late substitute in that game.

Experienced midfielder Gary O’Neil, whose only appearance so far this season was in the Capital One win against Crewe, looks certain to be in a starting line-up that could also include central defender James Tomkins, full-back George McCartney and goalkeeper Stephen Henderson, who will replace Jussi Jaaskelainen.

“There are players who are feeling frustrated at being left on our substitutes’ bench,” Allardyce said. “Players such as Maiga will come into the fray and tonight should be a good game because there’s not too much pressure on either team.

“I’m sure Wigan will make seven or eight changes, like they did against Nottingham Forest in the last round.”

Allardyce could also be tempted to include players from the club’s Under-21 squad, coached by Ian Hendon, including Robert Hall, George Moncur and Matthias Fanimo, who all featured in the 2-0 victory over Crewe.

“We can also look at players from the Under-21 squad,” Allardyce said. “They’ve just beaten Arsenal 4-1 and some of the reports are saying these players are looking very good.”

Wigan boss Roberto Martinez will also make changes and said: “We’re not performing as well as we can and there are places up for grabs.

“Having a good display in the cup always helps with the league and you become a stronger team.”

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