Several stars missing as exit-linked Ben Johnson starts – West Ham United starting XI v Lincoln
David Moyes has named 10 changes as West Ham head to Lincoln City in the third round of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday (27 September).
Ahead of kick-off, the Hammers confirmed via their official Twitter account that Lukasz Fabianski will start in goal, with Thilo Kehrer, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Angelo Ogbonna and exit-linked Ben Johnson making up the back four.
Tomas Soucek will be the only starter from Sunday’s defeat against Liverpool to continue, with Pablo Fornals, Mohammed Kudus, Maxwel Cornet, Said Benrahma and Danny Ings making up the rest of the lineup.
Point to prove
There are several fringe players who currently have a point to prove at West Ham after not getting as many minutes as they would have hoped for at the start of this season.
This is a chance for them to go out there and send a message to Moyes that should be more involved in the Premier League over the next few weeks.
It won’t be an easy night for the Hammers, though, as Lincoln will want to make it tough for them and it should be a hostile atmosphere inside the stadium.
But it’s a great opportunity for the Irons to go out there and secure their place in the fourth round of the competition after their Europa Conference League success earned them an automatic place in the third round.
They can’t afford to be taking the League One side likely and that is a message Moyes will surely be reiterating as he looks for a number of players to prove their worth in the game.
In other West Ham news, a celebrity fan has raged at what Moyes did in the defeat against Liverpool.