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West Ham United striker Andy Carroll has warned Swansea City he will be seeking redemption against them on Sunday - after seeing red in controversial circumstances at the Boleyn Ground last season.

Towering front man Carroll had twice knocked down for best friend and team-mate Kevin Nolan to score on the way to a 2-0 win over the Swans in February.

But half an hour before the end his afternoon was soured when he was giving his marching orders following a swinging arm during an altercation with Chico Flores which saw Sam Allardyce later criticise the behaviour of the ‘squealing’ Spaniard.

Nine months on and the 25-year-old says he is determined to ensure that all his memories of Sunday’s mouth-watering clash against the Swans are positive ones this time around.

He said: “It’s never an easy game against Swansea because they can keep the ball and pass it around.

“Garry Monk has done a great job there. He has kept the way they play and the team spirit and it’s going to be a tough game.

poll loading Who is the better striker? 0+ VOTES SO FAR Andy Carroll Wilfried Bony

“Obviously the last time I played against them it wasn’t a very good ending, but I’m looking forward to it.

“Hopefully I’ll get a couple of goals this time and no red card, which would be even better.”

That defeat in East London marked the end of Michael Laudrup’s reign at the Liberty Stadium with the Dane sacked four days later with Garry Monk taking over on a temporary basis before winning the job full-time before the end of last season.

Since then, the Swans have never looked back and after 14 games of the current campaign have a record Premier League points total of 22.

It sees them sit in seventh in the Premier League, just two points and places behind the fifth-placed Hammers who have had a renaissance of their own under Allardyce.

One man Carroll is looking forward to sharing a pitch with is the Premier League’s top scorer in 2014 Wilfried Bony, whose qualities - not dissimilar to his own - he is in no doubt of.

“I think he’s a great player and has been fantastic for them,” he said.

“He’s big, strong and keeps the ball well and he can score goals on the floor and in the air. He is going to be one to watch and keep a hold of.”

Carroll made his playing return from an ankle injury as a substitute against Aston Villa last month and has since started matches with Everton, Newcastle and West Brom.

(Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency)

Swansea centre-back Kyle Bartley says the Swans cannot be cowed by the 6ft 4ins striker as they look to maintain their push for European football against one of their closest rivals.

He said: “We’ve got nothing to fear. Andy Carroll or whoever we face in the Premier League, we know what we’ve got to do against certain players and hopefully we’ll do that.

“I see it being a very challenging game, but in the Premier League you’re never going to get an easy game. The manager and the coaching staff will give us a game-plan and as long as we stick to that we’ll have a good chance.

“We don’t want to be thinking too much about a year ago, we just want to go in there full of confidence after our performance on Tuesday night.

“Sam Allardyce has changed his ways a little bit and the fans are happier with that, but we’re expecting all sorts of different challenges from the game.”

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