Three changes, senior midfield duo axed – West Ham predicted XI v Liverpool
West Ham take a trip to Anfield on Saturday night to take on Liverpool, looking to bounce back from their FA Cup exit in midweek.
David Moyes named a strong team but could only watch on as Southampton beat them 3-1, and now will look to make some changes in order to get back to winning ways in arguably the hardest away game in the country.
The Hammers have just one win in their last four games but it was Moyes’ side who handed Liverpool their first defeat of the season earlier this season, so they’ll be hopeful of doing damage once again.
Lukasz Fabianski will return to the starting lineup, with the Pole confirmed as the club’s number one goalkeeper under Moyes.
The team lined up with a five-at-the-back formation in midweek and it’s likely they’ll stick with that, but with a few changes in personnel. Ben Johnson will likely switch over to the left to accommodate the return of Ryan Fredericks on the right.
Aaron Cresswell is in contention to return also, so he could slot in ahead of Issa Diop as the third centre-back on the left hand side.
The midfield duo of Declan Rice and Thomas Soucek essentially picks itself currently, but even moreso with Mark Noble out injured currently.
Pablo Fornals started at wing-back in the cup but struggled defensively and going forward hasn’t been at his best recently, while Manuel Lanzini has seen a dip in his performances too.
That should see both men left out of the team with Said Benrahma partnering up with Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio in attack.
Antonio got his first goal in eight games during the defeat to Southampton, so the Hammers will be hopeful it will kick off a run of goalscoring form and he can cause terror among the Liverpool back line.
Predicted XI: Fabianski; Dawson, Zouma, Cresswell; Fredericks, Rice, Soucek, Johnson; Bowen, Antonio, Benrahma.
In other West Ham news, Club want one of biggest deals in countries history to sell star to West Ham – report