West Ham United host Chelsea in their first London Stadium clash of the new Premier League season and Graham Potter has made a couple of changes to his starting line-up for the visit of Enzo Maresca’s side.
Jarrod Bowen will lead his Hammers teammates out, looking for his maiden goal of 2025/26 after a frustrating afternoon at Sunderland last time out.
Captain Bowen was ‘fuming’ at the Stadium of Light. Both he and Graham Potter want an immediate response, and the manager’s West Ham United team selection offers those Wearside flops the chance to issue a riposte to their critics.
The Hammers have made only one change from the side embarrassed in the North East.
Stuart Pearce wanted Tomas Soucek to return to the XI, and he got his wish. The towering Czech midfielder comes in for Guido Rodriguez.
Tomas Soucek replaces Guido Rodriguez as West Ham United host Chelsea
Soucek will partner James Ward-Prowse in the centre of the park. Aaron Wan-Bissaka and El Hadji Malick Diouf are at wing-back, while Nayef Aguerd, Jean-Clair Todibo and Max Kilman make up the central defensive trio.
Bowen and Lucas Paqueta also start again in behind Niclas Fullkrug.
Potter is backing Mads Hermansen to bounce back, meanwhile, from that 3-0 defeat at Sunderland. The £18 million goalkeeper was beaten far too easily as Wilson Isidor wrapped up a stunning win for the newly-promoted side.
“I don’t think I need to have a one-to-one chat with him,” Potter said during his pre-match press conference on Thursday. “Of course, he’s got goalkeeping coaches who support him. I’ve been checking in and he’s absolutely fine.
“[Hermansen] trained really well and he will play.”
Luis Guilherme is missing for West Ham again with a shoulder issue, while Crysencio Summerville is not yet available. Callum Marshall is, however, on the bench after his suspension last weekend.
On the other side, Enzo Maresca ruled out Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson amongst a handful of other players made available for transfer. The Blues are determined to move on the likes of Jackson, Christopher Nkunku and Raheem Sterling.
Chelsea still possess plenty of firepower, however, even if last week’s stalemate with Crystal Palace saw talisman Cole Palmer extend his wait for a first open-play goal since mid-January.
Liam Delap makes his full league debut after joining from Ipswich Town.
Potter demands a response after West Ham’s Sunderland nightmare
Potter knows his West Ham backline will have to be at their most focused to keep Palmer and co quiet for a second successive matchday. The former Chelsea boss was left extremely disappointed after Sunderland scored with two unchallenged headers on Wearside.
“I think they are two different situations. One is an open-play goal. The ball comes in from 30, 40 yards. It’s not a good action from us. The ball goes between our two centre-backs to a centre-forward that is falling back,” Potter sighed.
“It’s not good from our perspective. When the cross goes in, you think we should be able to deal with that. But we don’t.
“I don’t think there was happening all the time. It wasn’t like there were ten crosses and in the end they got one goal. It’s one action. I think that is also a learning point for us in this league.
“Then, the second goal, we get our organisation wrong off a second-phase corner. We are all coming out a bit too quickly because we’ve lost the logical part of our brain. We need to react better in those situations. But I don’t think they necessarily [show] a pattern.”
“It will take a huge effort [to beat Chelsea],” he added, Potter going up against a club which sacked him after only six months in charge back in 2023. “[We need] a fantastic team performance. Always a bit of luck, whenever you play football you need a bit of that.
“But it’s very simple, we are playing against a top team in a really good moment. A talented squad. So, we have to perform well as a team, the balance between attack and defence has to be really good, and we have to give everything.
“All I know is that Chelsea have a very, very talented manager, a talented squad off the back of a successful summer period, constantly investing in the team. So, we expect a big challenge.”
Receive a digest of our best West Ham content each week direct to your mailbox
