West Ham could be without midfielder Julien Faubert for Wednesday night's Barclays Premier League match against Liverpool.

Faubert took a knock in a challenge with Claude Makelele during the Hammers' 4-0 home defeat by Chelsea at the weekend, and is struggling to be fit for the trip to Anfield.

If the Frenchman does recover, manager Alan Curbishley is likely to name an unchanged squad as his team look to keep alive their hopes of qualifying for next season's UEFA Cup.

With three key matches in seven days, Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez could shuffle his pack.

Liverpool have Newcastle at home on Saturday and then Inter Milan away in the Champions League next Tuesday. Although the Spaniard has intimated that he will not be rotating as much now as the season draws to a climax, he could well change the side that won at Bolton on Sunday.

Steve Finnan is definitely out with a groin strain, but Benitez is unlikely to continue with Jamie Carragher at full-back, so Alvaro Arbeloa is a likely replacement.

Youngster Martin Skrtel could step down to allow Carragher back into central defence, while Peter Crouch and Yossi Benayoun - both unused substitutes at the Reebok Stadium - could come into contention.

Defender Daniel Agger continued his comeback from injury in Tuesday night's 1-0 reserve win over Bolton's second string.

Teams

West Ham (from): Green, Wright, Pantsil, Neill, Spector, Upson, Ferdinand, McCartney, Faubert, Ljungberg, Noble, Mullins, Solano, Boa Morte, Cole, Ashton, Camara, Sears.

Liverpool (from): Reina, Arbeloa, Carragher, Hyypia, Aurelio, Riise, Benayoun, Gerrard, Mascherano, Alonso, Babel, Kuyt, Torres, Crouch, Skrtel, Lucas, Martin.