Rice and Masuaku to start – West Ham predicted XI v Crystal Palace
David Moyes is predicted to make two changes as West Ham prepare for their London derby clash with Crystal Palace on Saturday (January 1).
The Scots options are limited with Angelo Ogbonna (knee), Kurt Zouma (hamstring), Aaron Cresswell (back) and Pablo Fornals (Covid) all unavailable.
Arthur Masukaku is expected to fill in for Ben Johnson as the 21-year-old looks to find his way back to full fitness after injury. Moyes will treat him with caution after bursting onto the scene with great impact this season.
Club captain Mark Noble is likely to be demoted back to the bench with Declan Rice available for selection after serving his one match ban.
Despite scoring four against a very poor Watford side, Fornals has been hugely missed since being ruled out to covid.
The Irons replaced Lanzini and Benrahma with Vlasic and Kral, two players who have featured very little for West Ham this season.
There are not many other changes available to Moyes for this game with West Ham are crying out for squad depth as the January transfer window edges closer.
The Hammers could do with bolstering their squad in all areas during the transfer window as their already stretched squad continues to be decimated thanks to injuries and positive covid cases.
Despite the teams issues, Moyes has more than enough fire power to deal with Patrick Viera’s Crystal Palace.
Hopefully the issues within the squad can be addressed in the new year once the window opens.
It is increasingly important the Irons deal with the weaknesses in their squad to remain fighting on all fronts for the remainder of the season.
In other Hammers news, West Ham duo named in BBC pundit Premier League Team of the Year.