Despite Carlton Cole and Zavon Hines torturing the usually solid Liverpool defence in a hard-fought and narrow defeat over the weekend, Zola looks set to give Franco the nod after the Mexican international joined the squad on Sunday.
Zola said: “He is a main striker and is good at holding the ball and very good with the feet. He is a reference up there and likes to play off to the others and he can make a difference to us.”
Along with Franco’s imminent debut, the unhappy Hammers, who currently sit one place above their opponents tonight, could be forced into a few changes with doubts surrounding the influential and popular Valon Behrami and centre-back Matthew Upson after the pair picked up knocks over the weekend. Manuel da Costa, Jonathon Spector and Niko Kovac are all on standby.
In the Bolton camp, manager Gary Megson, in his quest to silence the boo-boys who jeered his team off the pitch following Saturday’s battling draw against a resilient and tough-tackling Stoke side, is fortunate to have a near fully fit squad to choose from.
Two players hoping for a starting place are defender Ricardo Gardner, who is back after injury, and on-loan Nantes striker Ivan Klasnic, while midfielder Sean Davis is a doubt after picking up a knee injury against Liverpool.
Megson, who is keeping his cards close to his chest in terms of team selection, said: “Since I have been here, I have changed teams for cup ties and each and every time the players that tell me they should be in the first team don’t deliver when they are in.
“I’m not sure exactly what team will be put out, so we’ll have a look to see what knocks we have picked up.”
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