View: West Ham predicted starting XI for Europa League clash v Sevilla
David Moyes must revert to his favoured 4-2-3-1 formation as West Ham prepare to face Sevilla in the Europa League on Thursday (March 10).
The Hammers will be coming up against a really good footballing side as they travel to the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium to face the side who currently sit comfortably in second place in LaLiga.
It is vital the Irons are protected at the bag and have enough attacking threat to hurt Sevilla after Moyes’ 4-4-2 did a good job of keeping the Reds out on Saturday (March 5) but failed to put the Reds under too much defensive pressure.
The first obvious change for the round of 16 first leg is Jarrod Bowen dropping out. He limped off at Anfield and is expected to miss this game with a heel injury, according to the Evening Standard.
After missing Saturday’s clash, Declan Rice will hopefully be available for selection again. He is a no-brainer and will slot straight back into the heart of midfield with usual partner Tomas Soucek.
As expected, Lukasz Fabianski will deputise in between the sticks. Ben Johnson gets the nod at right-back with Vladimir Coufal out injured with Aaron Cresswell to start at left-back for the Irons.
The defence is completed with Kurt Zouma and Craig Dawson partnered in centre-back following mightily impressive performances against Liverpool on the weekend.
Bowen’s absence sees Pablo Fornals shift to the right-wing. He has big boots to fill but will be needed more for his tenacity and energy up and down the flank against the free-flowing Spanish side.
Nikola Vlasic will be backed to go again as he builds momentum in Claret and Blue. The Croatian has great pace that could be used to hit Sevilla on the counterattack.
Manuel Lanzini slots back into attacking midfield having filled in for Rice last time out. It is vital the Argentine is at his best, linking up the play between attack and defence as he has done so many times for West Ham.
Of course, Michail Antonio will start as the lone striker. Despite his lull in form, the Jamaican is the Hammers’ only out and out striker which they will desperately need in a game like this.
He has a really tough job of holding the ball up and bringing others into play as the Irons look to do a job away from home in Europe and bring Sevilla back to their own backyard on good terms.
In other West Ham news, Mark Noble supports Andriy Yarmolenko in his ‘horrendous’ situation.
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