West Ham United will be hoping to make it three wins in a row in all competitions when they take on newly-promoted Fulham this afternoon, with David Moyes’ side having only recently claimed an impressive 1-0 win over Anderlecht on Thursday evening.
That Europa Conference League group stage clash in Belgium saw the Hammers clinch victory courtesy of a late strike from summer signing Gianluca Scamacca, with the Italian striker having begun to hit form having netted in the previous Premier League triumph over Wolverhampton Wanderers last weekend.
While it has been something of a rocky start to the new top-flight campaign for the east Londoners thus far – with just seven points from their opening eight league games – the expectation should well be to claim another three points later today, with the Irons enjoying a solid record against their upcoming opponents having gone unbeaten in the last 11 home meetings against the Cottagers.
Ahead of that encounter at the London Stadium, here is how Football FanCast thinks the hosts will line up…
Following that recent victory just a few days ago, Moyes suggested that his side had a “few knocks and niggles” in the aftermath of that win, albeit with the only confirmed absence seemingly that of former Burnley man Maxwel Cornet – while fellow new addition Nayef Aguerd still remains restricted to the sidelines having yet to feature so far this term.
With that in mind, we believe that the former Everton boss will make seven changes from the side that triumphed in midweek, with usual starter Lukasz Fabianski likely to retake his place between the sticks despite Alphonse Areola’s midweek heroics, having made a vital save late on.
The expectation is that West Ham will revert to a back four once again having done so against Wolves last week, with Thilo Kehrer and Aaron Cresswell set to slot in at full-back, while the veteran pair of Craig Dawson and Angelo Ogbonna should keep their place once again.
In midfield, skipper Declan Rice should return to the starting XI alongside the impressive Flynn Downes, with the struggling Tomas Soucek set to give way with the 27-year-old having been in “awful” form of late, as described by journalist Tom Rennie.
The attacking quartet should see Lucas Paqueta and Pablo Fornals return alongside the ever-lively Jarrod Bowen – who netted his first league goal of the season against the Molineux outfit – while Michail Antonio will likely give way for the aforementioned Scamacca, with the 6 foot 5 ace having been lauded for his “crazy” finishing by teammate Rice earlier this week.