Alphonse Areola to be axed by David Moyes, six changes – West Ham predicted XI v Manchester United
West Ham could be set for six changes to their line-up ahead of their game against Manchester United on Saturday as they look to get back to winning ways.
David Moyes played a heavily rotated defence against Liverpool in the EFL Cup quarter-final as they were knocked out of the tournament by a scoreline of 5-1, with much of the backline criticised for their performances.
There is a very strong possibility that the trusted centre-back partnership of Kurt Zouma and Nayef Aguerd come back into the side, replacing Konstantinos Mavropanos and Angelo Ogbonna, with a change of goalkeeper too.
Speaking to the Evening Standard after crashing out of the EFL Cup, Moyes defended his choice to play a weakened side against Liverpool, citing his opposition’s talent and quality as the reason for the defeat: ” I had to find out which players were good for me going into the Christmas period. And I’m losing players for the Africa Cup of Nations.
“We gave some players opportunities, but I don’t think [the defeat] was to do with that. It was to do with how good Liverpool were.”
Despite deputising as West Ham’s “cup ‘keeper”, Lukasz Fabianki could be given the nod against Man United. Alphonse Areola was trusted against Liverpool, having started 14 league games so far this season, but the 30-year-old failed to produce a confident performance in the cup.
Vladamir Coufal could be the only survivor from the Hammers’ defence that shipped five goals for the second time in 10 days, with Zouma and Aguerd likely to start against Man United after being rested versus Liverpool.
Emerson Palmieri is expected to reclaim his left-back position, with Ben Johnson struggling to defend against the likes of Harvey Elliott, Mo Salah, and Dominik Szoboszlai, who opened the scoring after the Hammers defender failed to close him down on the edge of the box.
James Ward-Prowse was also given a rest but is likely to push back into midfield, especially for his fantastic set pieces that could cause real problems for Man United’s defence and goalkeeper.
This would push Tomas Soucek further up the pitch into an attacking midfield role, replacing Pablo Fornals, who managed just 32 touches and a 64 per cent pass completion. [FotMob]
Mohammed Kudus and Jarrad Bowen are anticipated to keep their spots in the starting XI, with the latter scoring another beautiful effort despite Liverpool’s dominance on Wednesday night.
Said Benrahma came in for Lucas Paqueta, playing relatively well against a dominant Jurgen Klopp side, with West Ham limited to just a handful of half-chances. But the Brazilian is expected to replace Benrahma to face the Red Devils.
Though many fans will have wanted to see Divin Mubama given some vital minutes on the pitch, especially further into a game where there was little possibility of a comeback, Danny Ings was the only attacking change during midweek.
West Ham will be hoping to record consecutive victories over Erik ten Hag’s Man United. However, the Hammers are without a victory at Old Trafford since 2021 in the EFL Cup.
In other West Ham news, Simon Jordan has hit back at Jim White over David Sullivan questions.