WHZ View: The return of the back five – Predicted West Ham starting XI v Everton
West Ham face a difficult task on New Year’s Day as they travel to Goodison Park to face an in-form Everton team.
Both David Moyes and Carlo Ancelotti will be eager to start 2021 as they mean to go on after some recent hiccups.
Everton saw their meeting with Manchester City called off at the last minute and were then handed an unexpected rest of their festive period.
Meanwhile, West Ham are without a win in their last four and have not taken all three points since beating Leeds United at Elland Road.
After back-to-back draws, Moyes may want to go for a slightly more expansive line-up against West Ham and this is the XI we predict he might field.
In goal, there are no question marks surrounding the place of Lukasz Fabianski, who remains the club’s undisputed no.1.
Craig Dawson put in a starring performance against Southampton during the 0-0 draw, so it would be incredibly harsh for him to drop out, providing he is fit to face Everton.
Angelo Ogbonna and Aaron Cresswell make up the rest of the central defenders, but Vladimir Coufal and Ben Johnson on either flank.
Tomas Soucek and Declan Rice are two of the first names on the teamsheet for Moyes and should they stay fit, they will both start more often than not.
In the final third is where the big decisions to come.
Jarrod Bowen could start on the right as normal and we would love to see Said Benrahma given the nod alongside him.
The Algerian has reportedly been impressing in training and now he deserves the chance to impress in the Premier League.
Michail Antonio came off the bench against Southampton, but Moyes has been playing down his chances of a start – so we’re giving Sebastien Haller one final chance to lead the line.
Pablo Fornals is unlucky to miss out and you could make a case for him starting if Moyes does not feel ready to give Benrahma the chance to start.
In other West Ham news, David Moyes must find the right balance with Benrahma after training ground report