View: West Ham predicted XI vs Aston Villa
West Ham could make changes to the starting lineup as they look to find a way to replace Jarrod Bowen’s goals against Aston Villa on Sunday.
The Hammers have suffered back-to-back 1-0 defeats to Liverpool and Sevilla away from home in the last week, with just one win in their last six games in all competitions.
But David Moyes must find a way to replace his top creator and goalscorer, who has been ruled out of the game with the foot injury that forced him off at Anfield.
With a return to Premier League action, we can expect to see a return for Lukasz Fabianski in goal who has started all but one game in this competition this season.
Ben Johnson impressed at right-back in Spain in midweek and should keep his place with Vladimir Coufal still sidelined after a hernia problem. Aaron Cresswell is a sure-fire starter on the left, with his fine form continuing this season.
In the centre of defence Moyes is likely to continue with the partnership of Kurt Zouma and Craig Dawson, who have impressed together throughout the campaign.
Declan Rice was fit enough to return in the Europa League after missing the Liverpool clash, so should start in midfield once again alongside Tomas Soucek in the heart of the pitch.
Moyes opted for a 4-3-3 in midweek with Manuel Lanzini operating in a slightly deeper role than normal, and it’s expected that he will continue in that role here to match up with Steven Gerrard’s narrow team selection in midfield.
Nikola Vlasic missed a golden chance to get West Ham a valuable goal in Seville and that lack of killer instinct could cost him his place here.
Said Benrahma offers more creativity and goalscoring threat from out wide and can operate between the lines to cause more problems so should come into the team in his place.
Pablo Fornals remains a trusted Moyes player and will keep his place but move over to the right, while Michail Antonio remains the only senior striker at the club and will start.
Predicted XI: Fabianski; Johnson, Dawson, Zouma, Cresswell; Rice, Soucek, Lanzini; Fornals, Antonio, Benrahma.
In other West Ham news, ‘Frustrated’ – Michael Owen predicts result of West Ham clash v Aston Villa