David Moyes to snub Danny Ings once again, four changes – West Ham predicted XI v Bristol City
Recent injury worries at West Ham could play a major role in deciding David Moyes’ starting XI for the Hammers’ FA Cup replay against Bristol City.
The Robins forced the replay after a 1-1 draw at London Stadium on Sunday 7 January, with Tommy Conway cancelling out Jarrod Bowen’s fourth-minute opener.
However, three issues have left Moyes with much to ponder heading into the cup competition once again, with Lucas Paqueta, Konstantinos Mavropanos and Bowen leaving the field due to injuries. The former is set to be sidelined for around two months, as per BBC Sport.
Lukasz Fabianski is expected to keep his place in between the sticks as West Ham’s “cup ‘keeper”, which would see the Polish shot-stopper make his 12th appearance of the season and his second in the FA Cup.
With doubts over Mavropanos’ fitness, suffering a heavy blow to the ribs in the original fixture against Bristol City, Kurt Zouma could be joined by Angelo Ogbonna in defence, lining up together for the first time since West Ham’s smash-and-grab win over Brighton in August.
While Emerson Palmieri is expected to maintain his left-back spot in the starting XI, Ben Johnson could start ahead of Vladimir Coufal as the Czech international struggled against the on-rushing Cameron Pring and Anis Mehmeti.
Unchanged in midfield, West Ham could start with a midfield trio of Tomas Soucek, Edson Alvarez and James Ward-Prowse, pushing as much attacking presence up the pitch as possible against a resolute Bristol City centre of the park.
With Bowen suffering an injury in the last match, the winger could be given a rest, making room for Pablo Fornals on the right wing. And with Paqueta definitely unavailable, Said Benrahma could be given his 13th start of the campaign.
This would leave Moyes with a choice to make up front, with Divin Mubama more likely to get the nod ahead of Danny Ings. In the first match against the Robins, Mubama was brought on inside 15 minutes, replacing Paqueta, with Ings left on the bench until the final 15 minutes of the game.
However, with Manchester United and Arsenal on the horizon, it would not be a surprise to see Ings used ahead of the 19-year-old prospect, saving his legs for the Premier League instead.
In other West Ham news, a January exit is “difficult” for one Hammers player due to an “unbelievable” contract issue.