International focus: How will Marko Arnautovic do against Victor Lindelof?

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West Ham have no fixture at the weekend as the international break starts.

While West Ham will be desperate to pick up their first points, they have to wait until they travel to Everton on the 16th September instead.

In the meantime, four Hammers are away on international duty.  Here, we focus on Marko Arnautovic and look at what he’ll be up to over the break.

Can the 29-year-old inspire his country to victory in the upcoming games?

Fixtures

Arnautovic plays for Austria and he will be hoping to earn his 73rd and 74th caps.

Arnie has two games; one is a friendly and the other is a competitive fixture.

On Thursday night, Austria have a home tie against Sweden in a non-competitive fixture. Then, on Tuesday, they travel to Bosnia and Herzegovina, for a UEFA Nations League B clash.

The West Ham striker then has until Sunday to recover for the trip to Goodison Park.

Will he play?

Arnautovic is almost guaranteed to start for the Austrians in the UEFA Nations League match. Whether Franco Foda wants to try other players in the friendly remains to be seen.

With 72 caps and 19 goals to his name, he is a highly experienced senior member of the squad and one of their star players.

Arnie will either be handed a centre-forward spot like he has at West Ham, or out wide.

Who is he up against?

Sweden have some familiar faces in defence and Arnie might come up against them.

Manchester United’s Victor Lindelof tends to partner former Wigan Athletic defender Andreas Granqvist at the back, while Leeds United’s Pontus Jansson will be hoping for a game.

If the West Ham forward starts on the wing, he could be one-on-one against Celtic’s Mikael Lustig.

When Austria challenge the Bosnian side, former Manchester City star Edin Dzeko will be the man to watch.

Mo Besic, on loan at Middlesbrough from Everton, will be among the players trying to shackle Arnautovic.

How can this help West Ham?

The friendly against Sweden could give us an early indication of what might happen later this month.

West Ham host Man United at The London Stadium at the end of September, where Arnautovic will once again come up against Lindelof.

If he can terrorise the 24-year-old, who has struggled since his £31m switch to Old Trafford, then Jose Mourinho might have to drop him for their trip to East London.

Goals from Arnautovic would also be welcome. Last season’s top scorer already has two in four this term and West Ham need him to be at his best to move the club up the league table.