West Ham United will be hoping that they continue their climb up he Premier League table on Saturday, but face a tough task in Hull City in a basement battle at the London Stadium.

On the up?

Things looked to be on the up for the Hammers after winning three games on the spin, but it proved to be a false dawn and have really struggled in the last few weeks.

Slaven Bilic's side faced tough opposition in Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool, taking two points from those games with points at Old Trafford and Anfield.

The 2-2 draw with Jürgen Klopp's side managed to pull them out of the relegation zone, ahead of Wednesday's crucial clash with fellow strugglers Burnley.

It was a must win game for Bilic's side, and they managed to just grind out the three points with a Mark Noble strike giving them the 1-0 win, and they will be looking for a similar result on Saturday.

Looking for a bit of luck

After a surprising start to the campaign, Hull are currently battling at the bottom of the table and without a win in six they are in desperate need of three points ahead of the festive period.

The Tigers haven't tasted victory since the beginning of November, and it didn't get any easier for Mike Phelan's side midweek when they visited high-flying Tottenham. It proved to be a comfortable win for Spurs, with goals from Victor Wanyama and Christian Eriksen giving them a 3-0 win.

Team news

There are new fresh concerns for the Croatian coach ahead of this clash, with striker Andy Carroll expected to start his second consecutive match after his long-awaited return from injury. Reece Oxford is back in training fresh from signing a new deal, but Saturday's clash will come to early for the 18-year-old.

Simone Zaza (knee), Gokhan Tore (knee) and James Collins (muscular) are likely to be out, while Sam Byram (hamstring) and Diafra Sakho (hamstring) are definitely missing.

Phelan likewise has no fresh injury concerns, with the big boost to his side been the return to contention of striker Dieumerci Mbokani. The forward has served his three-match ban is expected to slot back into the starting XI.

The former Manchester United assistant could make some fresh changes to his side ahead of the festive period, with record signing Ryan Mason in with a shout of making a return.

West Ham United will take on Hull City at the London Stadium on Saturday, December 17 with kick-off at 3pm GMT.

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About the author
Danial  Kennedy
Award-winning sports journalism graduate. Currently studying a PR Masters at the University of Sunderland. Writing for VAVEL since August 2014. Twitter - @ddkjournalism.