David Moyes looks set to make one change to his West Ham United side which beat Atalanta last weekend for the season opener at Newcastle United.
West Ham head to St James’s Park on Sunday afternoon looking for a measure of revenge over Newcastle.
The Magpies have a habit of putting a spanner in the works for West Ham.
Measure of revenge on West Ham’s minds at Newcastle
They beat the Hammers in the opening game of last season. And defeat during the run-in ended up effectively costing West Ham a place in the Champions League with Moyes’s side missing out by just two points in the end.
West Ham ended last season in sixth place after recording the club’s record Premier League points haul.
That earned West Ham a place in the Europa League while the six points Newcastle took off Moyes’s boys merely helped them meander to a 12th place finish.
Hammers have two injury concerns for season opener
Moyes has confirmed that West Ham have two injury concerns ahead of the game.
Angelo Ogbonna and Manuel Lanzini have both been training after injuries. But neither are expected to start.
With Arthur Masuaku still working his way back to full fitness following a knee operation, it means Moyes will continue with much the same side that beat Atalanta 2-0 in West Ham’s final pre-season friendly last weekend.
One key change for Moyes as Fornals wingback experiment continues?
The experiment of using Pablo Fornals in a left wing-back role will continue for now after his excellent display against Atalanta.
And Moyes looks set to make just one change to the team which saw off the Serie A outfit eight days ago.
Jarrod Bowen will start in place of Andriy Yarmolenko.
It also means goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski starts the season with the number one shirt. New boy Alphonse Areola is likely to be used in the cups and Europa League. But he could slowly be phased in as part of the club’s succession plan as the season progresses.
Predicted West Ham starting XI to face Newcastle:
Fabianski, Coufal, Diop, Dawson, Cresswell, Fornals, Rice, Soucek, Bowen, Benrahma, Antonio.
In other news, relief for West Ham as Newcastle fail in race against time.
And Joe Cole says he has been left stunned by West Ham’s transfer business.
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