Freddie Sears will start for West Ham tonight against West Brom.

Boss Gianfranco Zola must do without leading scorer Carlton Cole, who is banned after his controversial red card at Wigan last week.

So local lad Sears, 19, will get his fourth start of the season.

Zola said: "Carlton is an important player for us and I don't think that he deserved to get sent off last week. It's a big miss for us as he is a reference for everybody.

"But Freddie Sears has worked very hard in the last few weeks.

"He knows this is a big opportunity for him and I am very confident he will take it."