After an opening day battering at Anfield, Manuel Pellegrini’s West Ham United fell to a home defeat against Bournemouth on game week 2 and are one of the four teams in the league yet to register a point. Their task does not get any easier as they now travel to Emirates this stadium to face Arsenal, one of the other three teams to lose both their games.
After clashes against Manchester City and Chelsea, the Gunners will hope to finally get off the mark in their second London derby in two weeks.
The Hammers had very few positives from their trip to Anfield but against the Cherries, they showed glimpses of what Pellegrini has been trying to implement and if they can find their gear, Arsenal could be vulnerable.
The Chilean manager used different systems in the last two games, so how will the team line up this time around? Here is the predicted lineup West Ham might field for this tie:
West Ham United – Team News
West Ham have three long-term absentees in Manuel Lanzini, Andy Carroll and Winston Reid but Pellegrini has an otherwise fit squad to choose from.
Predicted West Ham lineup (4-2-3-1)
Defence
For all the changes that the manager has made, Łukasz Fabiański remains his preferred choice under the bar. He will be protected by a centre-back pairing of Angelo Ogbonna and summer signing Fabián Balbuena, both of who have won 16 aerial duels in two games. But they will have to deal with the pace of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, which will be the real issue for the visitors.
Arthur Masuaku’s transition into a full-back seems to have gone well as he was decent against the Cherries. He did struggle against Mohamed Salah at Anfield but should retain his place at left-back for this short trip.
Pablo Zabaleta was West Ham’s best defender against Bournemouth, winning four tackles, the second most at the club after Masuaku, who has five to his name in two games.
Midfield
Mark Noble has not made the best of starts to the season and will be under pressure yet again this weekend.
The guile of Mesut Ozil and Henrikh Mkhitaryan could be hard for Noble to match so he might need the support of young Declan Rice, who seems to be ready for the rigours of the Premier League.
Attack
Rice and Noble’s presence in central midfield will allow Jack Wilshere to play in a no.10 role on his return to Emirates for the first time since his move away from Arsenal.
Javier Hernandez may have to be dropped to the bench as Marko Arnautovic, who scored against Bournemouth is expected to lead the line.
Felipe Anderson has been effective on the left flank, averaging 2.5 dribbles and 1.5 key passes per game in his first two games in the Premier League. Robert Snodgrass will add some experience and guile on the right flank.
Here is how they might line up:
Stat Credit: Whoscored.com