West Ham United v Bayer Leverkusen: David Moyes reveals three star players could miss out
David Moyes has confirmed that Alphonse Areola will join Jarrod Bowen and Kalvin Phillips in facing late fitness tests ahead of West Ham United’s clash against Bayer Leverkusen on Thursday.
The Hammers boss has suggested the trio won’t be guaranteed to start in the Europa League crunch match. The first leg in Germany was played without any of the three and with that, a 2-0 loss is what West Ham will have to fight against.
West Ham will be desperate to secure a win, continue their excellent form in Europe and secure a semi-final place. Moyes knew he could be without several key stars at the London Stadium on Thursday night (18 April).
As quoted by Ben Dinnery on X (17 April), Moyes said: “It was great to see him out there. It’s the first time, so we’re not sure about him, Kalvin Phillips or Alphonse Areola. They’ll all be late calls tomorrow. We’d never risk anyone if it wasn’t right. You always want your best players in, and Jarrod is our top scorer this season.”
Should Alphonse Areola start for West Ham v Bayer Leverkusen?
There is no doubt of how important the Englishman is to the Hammers, his goals have proved vital at times. With 15 goals and five assists, he has seven more goal involvements than anyone else in the squad [FotMob].
Although that may be the case, Moyes and Co. have certainly missed their number-one goalkeeper in weeks gone by.
In the last five full games he played, before his injury v Newcastle, he conceded six goals and kept a single clean sheet. Compare this to the incoming Lukasz Fabianski who conceded three at Newcastle and six in his following four.
Areola, 31, has featured 27 times so far this season and despite keeping just four clean sheets in this time, he has performed at a top level. This is shown by his two penalty saves this campaign [FotMob].
At 38 years old it is safe to say that the Poland international is coming towards the end of his career and isn’t the ideal first-choice keeper for the club right now.
Although he hasn’t performed especially badly since his return, it will be a welcome sight for West Ham fans to see Areola start once again.
In other West Ham news, an update has been shared on George Earthy after he was stretchered off against Fulham.
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