James Ward-Prowse dropped by David Moyes, six changes – West Ham United confirmed XI v Liverpool
David Moyes has named his West Ham XI as the Hammers visit Anfield to take on Liverpool in the EFL Cup on Wednesday night (20 December).
Alphonse Areola is the first of six changes as the Frenchman is given the nod ahead of Lukasz Fabianski.
There is a brand-new centre-back partnership from West Ham’s previous match against Wolves, with Angelo Ogbonna and Konstantinos Mavropanos replacing the everpresent Kurt Zouma and Nayef Aguerd.
Ben Johnson is handed his first league appearance of the season, with Vladamir Coufal remaining at right-back.
Edson Alvarez and Tomas Soucek remain in midfield but are joined by Pablo Fornals, instead of James Ward-Prowse, who is given a rest alongside Lucas Paqueta.
Without the Brazilian in attack, Mohammed Kudus and Jarrod Bowen are joined by Said Benrahma up front as they look to reach the EFL Cup semi-final.
West Ham took to Twitter to share their lineup for the game.
A lot on the line
West Ham will be hoping to qualify for the EFL Cup semi-final for the third time in 14 seasons but will need to defeat Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool side in order to do so.
However, the 2022 champions of the tournament are unbeaten against the Hammers in the previous four meetings. West Ham last claimed victory in 2021 as an Alisson own goal, Pablo Fornals and Kurt Zouma outscored Liverpool in an exciting 3-2 thriller.
Furthering that, you would have to travel all the way back to August 2015 to see West Ham win at Anfield as Manuel Lanzini, Mark Noble and Diafro Sakho took all three points in the Premier League, with Philippe Coutinho and Noble both sent off during the match.
Liverpool versus West Ham promises drama, and with so much on the line for both sides, Wednesday night will be no different. Moyes’ future at the club could be circling the drain despite a recent European trophy and Liverpool are hoping to make a comeback after a couple of poor seasons.
In other West Ham news, Moyes must hurry to find a solution to a “significant problem” United are soon to face.