Nuno Espirito Santo makes contentious Kyle Walker-Peters call for West Ham vs Derby County

Nuno Espirito Santo has dropped Kyle Walker-Peters from his West Ham United starting lineup to face Derby County.

After a frustrating start to the new season, West Ham finally seem to be getting going in the Championship for 2026-27.

Their trip to Vicarage Road saw the Hammers grind out a hard-earned draw at one of the toughest venues in the division to pick up points as the away side.

West Ham then followed that up with an emphatic 4-2 victory over newly-relegated rivals Wolves at the London Stadium on Tuesday night.

Walker-Peters started at right-back against Wanderers, maintaining his 100 per cent record of being in the starting XI for every league game this term.

That streak ends today, however, as Nuno names him in the team to face Derby.

What is the West Ham team Nuno Espirito Santo has picked vs Derby?

West Ham go in search of their first back-to-back league wins of the new season at E20 this afternoon.

In goal, Mads Hermansen keeps his place between the sticks, whilst Ollie Scarles retains his spot at left-back.

Max Kilman and Konstantinos Mavropanos is the centre-back pairing, whilst Joel Veltman replaces Walker-Peters at right-back.

Moving into midfield, Arne Engels and Divine Mukasa make up the central midfield paring.

Jarrod Bowen takes up his usual spot down the right, whilst Manor Solomon looks to end his four-game goalless run this afternoon on the left.

Up top, Joel Piroe and Taty Castellanos lead the line together as Nuno makes a grand total of two changes to the side that beat Wolves.

But why is he wrong to leave Walker-Peters on the bench despite bringing him off before the hour against Wolves?

Why Walker-Peters made big impact vs Wolves despite early substitution

With Veltman now providing stern competition at right-back, Walker-Peters must continue to prove himself to Nuno.

However, being replaced after 56 minutes against Wolves last time out suggested that the Hammers boss could be losing faith in the 29-year-old.

He hasn't stuck by the ex-Southampton man for the visit of Derby this afternoon either, and his numbers against Wolves show why that's harsh.

Per FotMob, Walker-Peters' eight defensive contributions against Wolves were the joint-most of any player on the pitch that night.

On top of this, he also completed 93 per cent of his passes accurately, played four passes into the final third and took three touches in the Wolves box.

Walker-Peters also won two tackles, made three blocks, three clearances, four recoveries, won two ground duels and his only aerial duel.

So, whilst it wasn't Walker-Peters' best night in a West Ham shirt, it certainly wasn't his worst, and it deserved to keep him in the lineup this afternoon.