Alphonse Areola decision made, Kurt Zouma keeps place – West Ham United confirmed XI v Freiburg
David Moyes has chosen his West Ham starting XI ahead of a fierce clash with Freiburg in the Europa League on Thursday 7 March, with only one change made.
Lukasz Fabianski is set to take over from Alphonse Areola in between the sticks, with Kurt Zouma and Konstantinos Mavropanos ahead of him in the centre of defence.
Vladimir Coufal and Emerson Palmieri, expectedly, keep their places at full-back, with Tomas Soucek, Edson Alvarez and James Ward-Prowse occupying the midfield trio to take on Freiburg.
In an unchanged attack, Lucas Paqueta is joined by Mohammed Kudus and Jarrod Bowen, who will be looking to build on his previous two performances, scoring a hat-trick and bagging one assist.
West Ham announced their lineup via X.
Can West Ham United complete the treble against Freiburg this season?
West Ham will be hoping to take inspiration from their group stage performances, having beaten the Bundesliga outfit both home and away.
The 2-0 victory at the London Stadium in December was far more convincing, with Freiburg able to score an equaliser in the 2-1 victory for the Hammers two months previous.
Though pressure has been mounting on Moyes‘ shoulders since the start of 2024, going on an eight-match winless streak, West Ham have rediscovered their form just in time for the Europa League Round of 16.
This has been simultaneous with the return of Paqueta from injury, who played key roles in both wins over Brentford and Everton in the Premier League.
Of course, the threats that Freiburg pose will be a whole other animal for the London club, but fans should remain confident that they can bring a victory back to England with them for the reverse fixture.
In other West Ham news, sources have claimed a Premier League manager is now in the frame to replace Moyes.
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