Gianluca Scamacca starts, Michail Antonio to be axed – West Ham United predicted XI v Aston Villa
West Ham travel to Villa Park to take on Aston Villa in search of their first points of the Premier League season on Sunday afternoon.
David Moyes’ side secured their place in the Europa Conference League with an away win against Viborg on Thursday night, and many of that side who started could be in line to keep their places after an impressive performance.
But with several stars vying for their places, Moyes has some big decisions to make that will upset some people.
In goal Alphonse Areola continued his good form in European competition, but is likely to find himself back on the bench behind Lukasz Fabianski with the Polish stopper still considered first-choice in the league.
In defence Vladimir Coufal was given the night off in the week so he should return to the lineup at right-back, while Aaron Cresswell could find himself as a substitute now following the permanent arrival of Emerson Palmieri. The Italian is set to make his debut from the start here.
In the centre Moyes should continue with the partnership of Thilo Kehrer and Kurt Zouma, with Craig Dawson still injured and Angelo Ogbonna still building up his fitness following a long-term injury.
Midfield has been a problem position but Moyes is still short on numbers for this game, meaning we will almost certainly see Tomas Soucek lining up alongside Declan Rice once again for this game.
Soucek found the back of the net after a rough start to the season, and the hope is that he will be able to kick on and rediscover his good form now while Flynn Downes waits in the wings on the substitutes bench, while the club are offered the chance to sign other midfielders too.
In attack the boss has got plenty of options, and that could see a few senior heads sitting on the bench when they would usually start.
One man sure to keep his place is right winger Jarrod Bowen, who has been excellent for the last 18 months and found the net in the first leg against Viborg to kickstart his campaign.
Alongside him in the number ten role, Said Benrahma has been in excellent form so far this season despite the club supposedly considering offloading him should an acceptable offer arrive. His creativity and goal threat means he should get the nod over Pablo Fornals and Manuel Lanzini.
On the left Maxwel Cornet has performed well in his appearances so far but has been restricted in the Premier League, but a start here could be the perfect firestarter for his Hammers career.
He has struck up a good partnership with Gianluca Scamacca and with two goals in his two starts so far, the Italian hitman shout get his first Premier League start ahead of Michail Antonio.
West Ham predicted XI v Aston Villa: Fabianski; Coufal, Kehrer, Zouma, Emerson; Rice, Soucek; Bowen, Benrahma, Cornet; Scamacca