Bowen and Kudus return – West Ham United confirmed starting XI v Crystal Palace
West Ham have confirmed their starting XI for the Premier League clash with Crystal Palace at the London Stadium, as David Moyes makes six changes from the team who beat Backa Topola on Thursday.
Jarrod Bowen, Mohammed Kudus, and Edson Alvarez have all returned to the starting XI, having missed the Europa League clash through various injuries and illnesses, replacing Divin Mubama, Said Benrahma, and Pablo Fornals.
Alongside the key players, Alphonse Areola, Vladimir Coufal and Emerson Palmieri have also returned to Moyes’ first-team side in place of Lukasz Fabianski, Ben Johnson and Aaron Cresswell.
With the return of the Hammers’ star players, they should be expecting to win against a Crystal Palace side who themselves are without key men Ebere Eze and Cheick Doucoure.
A must-win game
Palace have won just once in their last six games, with that win coming against a Burnley side at the bottom of the Premier League. The injuries to Eze and Doucoure will also be huge misses for the Eagles, and Moyes’ team must make the most of their depleted opponents.
The return of several key players will come as a huge boost for the home side, with Bowen in particular a big absence against both Burnley and Backa Topola as the Hammers struggled to create clear-cut chances without his influence up front.
Thomas Soucek could be a key player in this one after his late winner in the Europa League. He will be on top of the world at the moment and Moyes will be looking for him to have similar influence once again here.
Palace are unbeaten in their last four trips to the London Stadium and Moyes will be looking to put an end to that strong run of form in a fixture which has seen the first goalscorer go on to lose in the last two Premier League clashes.
In other West Ham news, the club could be set for a £10m+ boost in the latest London Stadium update.