AFTER the big freeze put West Ham’s weekend schedule on ice, the temperature will be turned up several notches this week when Gianfranco Zola’s side travel to the Midlands to face high-flying Aston Villa.

The postponement of the Hammers’ Premier League match with Wolves on Sunday may have come as a blessing in disguise, as it will allow the likes of Carlton Cole, Guillermo Franco and Zavon Hines to recover from their respective injuries for what could turn out to be one of the biggest games in the club’s season, given that Mick McCarthy’s men are also teetering on the brink of the relegation zone.

Expectations of an upset will not be high for West Ham when they make the trip to Villa Park this weekend, despite a recent blip for Martin O’Neill’s men in the league.

The Villains could not break through against Arsenal and left the Emirates empty-handed, while they were cruelly undone by a clinical last-gasp Fernando Torres strike a week later at home to Liverpool.

That run was bucked by a 3-1 victory in the FA Cup against Blackburn, suggesting they have quickly found their way back on track after a brief deviation.

That will not be an encouraging sign for West Ham, who are in the middle of a poor run of form, punctuated only by a 2-0 win over relegation rivals Portsmouth last month.

Defeats to Tottenham in the league and Arsenal in the FA Cup have taken the sheen off the Pompey victory, which was preceded by an impressive 1-1 draw with leaders Chelsea.

The squad will be boosted by the news that striker Cole is nearing a return to action, having missed the last six games with a knee injury.

Zola conceded his restoration to the line-up will be ‘vital’ for the team’s survival ambitions, although the forward is certainly out of Sunday’s clash with Villa and remains a doubt for the trip to Portsmouth on the 26th.

Mexican Franco, who has fitted seamlessly into the first team since his arrival at the end of the summer, will also be missing this week, after he picked up a muscular injury in training.

Add to that the absence of Hines and Zola has a selection headache in attack ahead of the weekend’s game, with youngsters Frank Nouble and Freddie Sears the only strikers available.

The Italian manager may elect to push Alessandro Diamanti further forward from the left side of midfield to fill the void, where he is likely to be paired with either Nouble or Sears.

Either way, it will be a largely untried and untested frontline that emerges at Villa Park, and they will have their work cut out to penetrate the ranks which include arguably the best buy of the summer, Richard Dunne, and former Hammer James Collins, who earned plenty of admirers during his time at Upton Park for his direct all-action approach.