Pablo Fornals axed, Said Benrahma starts – West Ham United confirmed XI v Bournemouth
West Ham have made one change to their starting lineup for Monday’s Premier League clash at home against Bournemouth (24 October).
Wide man Pablo Fornals is the only man to drop out of the side, being replaced by Said Benrahma as the team stick with the successful 4-3-3 formation for this game.
Ben Johnson retains his place at right-back ahead of Vladimir Coufal, while the game comes too soon for Craig Dawson to return at centre-back so Kurt Zouma and Thilo Kehrer keep their partnership going.
Gianluca Scamacca will look to add to his goal tally for the season after getting the nod up front once again, while Jarrod Bowen will be hoping to put his Anfield penalty miss behind him.
With the provisional England squad due to be named this week for the World Cup, a good performance will do the winger absolutely no harm of getting on the plane to Qatar.
Confident
This is a massive game for West Ham and a chance for them to move from 17th in the table all the way into the top half with a win.
So far this season the Hammers have been inconsistent in the Premier League with their performances, but after a performance against Liverpool that could have earned a point they will have some confidence here.
Moyes is likely to go strong with the chance to rest players for the game on Thursday against Silkeborg having already secured qualification to the next round and needing just one point to win the group.
It’s also a great sign of confidence for Flynn Downes to get the nod, having made his Premier League debut at Anfield and turned in yet another good performance despite the high level of competition.
It’s a big chance for Benrahma to stake a claim for a regular starting spot though in the absence of Michail Antonio and Maxwel Cornet, and with his good form the team will be looking to him to create and earn all three points.