WHZ view: 25yo summer signing must come in to unlock attack – Predicted West Ham XI v Fulham
West Ham face Fulham at the London Stadium on Saturday, with the Hammers looking to get back to winning ways.
David Moyes’ side impressed against Liverpool in their last outing at Anfield, only losing 2-1 thanks to a late goal from Diogo Jota.
Against Fulham the approach will likely need to be a little different though, with West Ham likely to have a greater share of the ball against the Premier League’s 17th-place side.
At Anfield, the Hammers generated just 0.5 expected goals (via FBRef) and will need more creativity and chances to seal the win against Scott Parker’s men.
In goal, Lukasz Fabianski should continue, but Moyes could switch to a back four ahead of them.
With Aaron Creswell and Vladimir Coufal shifting to full-back, left wing-back Arthur Masuaku would drop out, with an attacker coming in to replace him.
Fabian Balbuena and Angelo Ogbonna should make up the centre-back pairing, while Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek are likely to continue in a midfield double pivot.
Ahead of them, Moyes should be brave and include both Manuel Lanzini and Said Benrahma from the start, shifting Jarrod Bowen to the centre forward position he has played in the past at Hull City.
The manager admitted this week that Benrahma is approaching match fitness and this could be the ideal time to include the 25-year-old summer signing from the start in the Premier League for the first time.
With Pablo Fornals on the left, Lanzini as the number 10 and Benrahma from the right, the Hammers would have incredible creativity and the speed of Bowen in behind to threaten the Fulham backline.
Sebastien Haller should drop to the bench and look to provide a good option late on, but he too often fails to make an impact as a starter.
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