Taty Castellanos in action for West Ham, with Nuno Espirito Santo in a circular frame inset

Taty Castellanos and Nuno Espirito SantoImago

West Ham predicted XI vs Wolves: Castellanos axed as Nuno reshuffles defence in four changes

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Published on:

30 Aug 2026, 3:10 pm

West Ham United are in desperate need of a pick-me-up when they host Wolverhampton Wanderers on Tuesday.

The Hammers are now winless in three Championship games this season after an underwhelming 1-1 draw with Watford on Saturday.

Amin Nabizada put the Hornets ahead at Vicarage Road, with the Irons leaving with a point courtesy of a Mattie Pollock own goal.

Having started the campaign with a draw against Burnley and defeat to Charlton Athletic, Nuno Espirito Santo is already feeling the pressure.

The assignments do not get much easier as Wolves, also relegated from the Premier League last season, make the trip to the London Stadium.

Here, West Ham Zone is predicting Nuno to make four changes in total, with the line-up likely still a 4-4-1-1: Mads Hermansen; Kyle Walker-Peters, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Max Kilman, Oliver Scarles; Jarrod Bowen, Mohamadou Kante, Arne Engels, Manor Solomon; Pablo; Joel Piroe.

Mavropanos risk and Scarles to return in defence for West Ham

There is little chance of Nuno swapping goalkeepers at this point, so Mads Hermansen is likely to continue with the gloves in goal.

But Nuno might be tempted to put Oliver Scarles back in at left-back with Joel Veltman dropping out and Kyle Walker-Peters shifting to the right where he is more at home.

Konstantinos Mavropanos missed out against the Hornets with a dead leg, so hopefully he can return here, with teenager Airidas Golambeckis most likely to drop out if he does.

Max Kilman should retain his spot at centre-back, with Nuno shy of options in the centre of defence - an issue he is hoping to address before the close of the transfer window.

Why Nuno has done little to quash West Ham sack talk after post-Watford comments

Castellanos axed, Piroe to start up top for West Ham

Nuno copped a lot of flak after the Watford game for his perceived negative tactics.

As things stand, there are not a great deal of alternatives to what he has, and a midfield pair of Mohamadou Kante and Arne Engels is one he will likely stick with.

Additionally, time is running out to strengthen on the flanks - something West Ham are trying to do - so captain Jarrod Bowen will more than likely start on the right, and Manor Solomon on the left.