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West Ham United will be looking to put some space between themselves and the drop zone when they host a rising Blackburn Rovers side that has won two consecutive Barclay's Premier League fixtures. West Ham have managed to crawl out of the relegation zone, but the Hammers remain level on points with 17th placed Wolverhampton and 18th placed Burnley. The Hammers have a better goal differential than either of those two sides, keeping them in 16th place for the time being. Blackburn have managed to mid-table, level on 27 points with 10th placed Fulham. Kickoff between the two is set for 15:00 local time at Upton Park in London, England.

West Ham United squandered a good opportunity to put distance between themselves and the drop zone during the midweek as they allowed a late equaliser in a 1-1 draw against bottom club Portsmouth. The Hammers took the first lead of the match in the 52nd minute when a clearance header went into the Pompey net off the chest of Matthew Upson. Substitute striker Danny Webber equalised for Portsmouth in the 76th minute, salvaging a point for Portsmouth and doing little to help either side's struggle for survival. Blackburn broke a late deadlock with Wigan Athletic on Wednesday to earn a 2-1 victory to move closer to mid-table. Wigan keeper Vladimir Stojkovic made his debut in goal and experienced a rough introduction to the Premier League as errors plagued his play. Morten-Gamst Pedersen took advantage of Stojkovic's first mistake slapping the ball into the upper corner in the 20th minute for a 1-0 lead. Gary Caldwell headed Wigan level in the 58th minute but Nikola Kalinic headed Blackburn back in front in the 78th minute, giving Blackburn the 2-1 victory.

Carlton Cole is expected to make his return to the West Ham lineup on Saturday after missing out since November with a knee injury. David Dunn will be out for Blackburn with a calf problem but Christopher Samba will return from suspension. Blackburn have not won at Upton Park since a 2-1 victory in April 1994. When these teams met back in August, it was the first time since October 1998 that West Ham failed to score against Blackburn, a stretch of 16 matches. The two sides seem to always be evenly matched as in 114 competitive matches with one another, Blackburn have won 45, West Ham 41, and there have been 18 draws.

Both sides will be hoping to collect maximum points. Blackburn have the chance to climb into the top half of the league table with a victory while West Ham needs a win to further distance themselves from the drop zone. As of right now goal differential is all that separates the Hammers from the drop zone.