AVRAM GRANT admitted West Ham’s next two games against free-scoring Manchester United and Chelsea look even more daunting after Saturday’s 3-1 defeat to Bolton.

Avram Grant admitted West Ham’s next two games against free-scoring Manchester United and Chelsea look even more daunting after yesterday’s 3-1 defeat to Bolton.

West Ham 1 Manchester City 1

West Ham will be without suspended midfield talisman Scott Parker for tomorrow’s Barclays Premier League clash with Sunderland.

West Ham 0 Stoke 1

ARSENAL have appealed against the red card shown to Thomas Vermaelen in Saturday’s match against West Ham.

Arsenal have appealed against the red card shown to Thomas Vermaelen in Saturday's match against West Ham.

ARSENE WENGER suggested after the victory over West Ham that Arsenal’s status as the least fancied of the three contenders in the Premier League title race would play into his side’s hands.

YOU could almost hear Arsene Wenger’s football brain ticking as he analysed his team’s title chances following a 2-0 victory over West Ham that has catapulted his team from outsiders to serious and deserved contenders.

Arsenal 2 West Ham 0

DAVID SULLIVAN, the West Ham co-owner, was in pleading mood before kick-off.

West Ham 1 Bolton 2

WEST HAM boss Gianfranco Zola believes he has unearthed a real gem in Alessandro Diamanti after another sparkling performance by the Italian in their 3-0 demolition of relegation rivals Hull at Upton Park.

West Ham 3 Hull 0

Gianfranco Zola insists his players were not sending a defiant message to the club’s new co-owners as they mobbed the Italian coach during their 2-0 win over Birmingham.

WEST HAM’s new owners were handed a timely reminder that Gianfranco Zola has all the credentials to lead the club to safety as they dispatched Birmingham 2-0 at Upton Park last night.

West Ham 2 Birmingham 0

Striker Benni McCarthy misses West Ham’s home match with Birmingham with a knee injury picked up against Burnley on Saturday.

West Ham 0 Blackburn 0

PORTSMOUTH substitute Danny Webber notched his first Premier League goal for the club to keep Avram Grant’s side in touch with their relegation rivals.

Portsmouth 1 West Ham 1

Aston Villa 0 West Ham 0

West Ham playmaker Alessandro Diamanti has distanced himself from reports linking him to AC Milan.

THE last time Arsene Wenger lifted a trophy was the FA Cup in 2005 and realistically the Frenchman knows that with Manchester United now eliminated, the famous old competition has suddenly become his side’s best bet for silverware this term.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger may dip into the transfer market to bolster his squad despite watching his depleted side beat West Ham 2-1 in the FA Cup third round.

FT: West Ham 1 Arsenal 2

Tottenham 2 West Ham 0

ON the second day of Christmas, Portsmouth gave to West Ham three vital points, for the second year in succession.

West Ham boss Gianfranco Zola hailed the character of Scott Parker and the rest of his players against Portsmouth in his biggest win of the Barclays Premier League season.

West Ham 2 Portsmouth 0

CARLO ANCELOTTI admits Chelsea’s standards are buckling under the weight of a gruelling festive programme, despite seeing them stretch their lead at the top of the Premier League to four points at West Ham last night.

A keenly disputed penalty, converted three times by a nerveless Frank Lampard, ensured Chelsea extended their lead at the head of the Premier League but the performance of Carlo Ancelotti’s side was anything but championship class.

West Ham 1 Chelsea 1

STEVE CLARKE believes Robert Green needs to play “the game of his life” this weekend after the goalkeeper’s blunder against Bolton led to a defeat that leaves West Ham second bottom of the Barclays Premier League.

Bolton 3 West Ham 1

Birmingham 1 West Ham 0

West Ham 0 Manchester United 4

West Ham will be without England pair Carlton Cole and Matthew Upson for tomorrow’s Barclays Premier League home match against Manchester United at Upton Park.

Matthew Upson will miss West Ham’s Barclays Premier League home match against Burnley tomorrow after suffering a hamstring injury in training on Wednesday.

West Ham welcome back Carlton Cole from injury for tomorrow’s Barclays Premier League match at Hull.

THIS was supposed to be a story of one club continuing to climb out of a crisis and another hurtling headlong into one but Everton clearly had not read the script.

West Ham 1 Everton 2

West Ham will be without Scott Parker when they travel to Sunderland for tomorrow’s Barclays Premier League clash.

Arsene Wenger warned his young Arsenal side cannot continue to miss “major opportunities” like at West Ham if they are to go on to deliver the Barclays Premier League title.