Stadium MK
Weds 28th July at 7:30pm  





With four excellent wins under their belt, the Dons will doubtless be feeling confident as they look forward to the next pre-season friendly against the Hammers. However, whilst the match will attract a lot of attention locally, it has to be remembered that both sides will still be working on their fitness and tactics.

West Ham will arrive with a new manager in Avram Grant, having replaced the unfortunate Gianfranco Zola at the end of last season. And with Thomas Hitzlsperger, Frederic Piquionne and Pablo Barrera having already moved to Upton Park since his appointment, the Hammers boss has had a busy summer so far in the transfer market. He has yet to land Tal Ben-Haim or Loic Remy, who are reported targets, but the Israeli has insisted that he has not finished yet and wanted to make the squad deeper.

"The squad is not complete yet, we told the players we want to make the squad as strong as we can," Grant told the club's official website. "Even if the club are limited with money, because we are in debt, we know what we are doing and we know what we want to do. The owners are trying to give their best for the team so we will buy or loan a few more players. Even if I don't like loans so much, most players here will be players for the long term."





Form Guide:
West Ham are unbeaten in pre-season having followed up an away win over Peterborough with victories over Borussia Monchengladbach and Panathinaikos while on the club's pre-season tour of Germany and Austria. The Dons are also unbeaten, if you take the view that the match against Newport Pagnell was an Academy friendly managed by Mike Dove. They have had convincing wins against Oxford City, St Neots and Aylesbury, but looked their best against Conference side Kettering when they won 4-1.





Players to watch:
One of the best known names in England after the World Cup is the West Ham keeper, Rob Green. And he's sure to be the centre of attention after his howler against the USA. Midfielder and vice captain, Scott Parker, has featured in many a fantasy football team and is a class midfielder. Former England player, Kieron Dyer, and Welsh international centre back, Danny Gabbidon, could feature in the match along with flying winger Luis Boa Morte, who has played 28 times for Portugal. The Hammers are captained by current England international Matthew Upson.



Matthew Upson


Ticket Prices:
Adults - £10
Under 16s - £1
Concessions - £5





Robbo's Thoughts:
"These are the games where it starts to become really tough. We're fit for the season, we've got minutes under our belts now and as of Monday we start preparing specifically for Walsall on August 7. We've got into a good winning mentality in the last couple of weeks. OK, with the greatest respect, not against the best opposition in the world, but against teams that are going to make it hard for us in tough conditions. When we play West Ham, they'll be right in the middle of gearing up for the Premier League season so they'll be as strong as they possibly can be. We'll have two days now of working on our shape and getting things right defensively, pressing from the front and testing it all out against the best of the best - Premier League footballers."





Away Fans Visitors Guide
http://www.mkdonsforum.org/portal/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=58&Itemid=23


West Ham Websites:
http://www.whufc.com/page/Welcome
http://kumb.com/forum/index.php