West Ham United will look to continue their winning run when they travel to Villa Park to take on Aston Villa today.
With two wins in their last two Premier League games, the Hammers have found some form after a patchy start to the season. They beat Watford and Norwich in the last two games before the break, and also knocked Newport out of the League Cup early.
Dean Smith’s side have lost three of their four league games this season, with their only win coming at home against Everton. They need to pick some points early in the season to avoid a late relegation scrap but this game against the Hammers will not be easy to fend off.
Here is the predicted lineup Manuel Pellegrini might field in search of all three points on this trip to Birmingham.
West Ham United Team News
Pellegrini revealed that Michail Antonio who underwent surgery recently and Winston Reid are the only two injury concerns ahead of this game Villa.
Predicted West Ham United lineup (4-1-4-1)
Defence:
Lukasz Fabianski kept his first clean sheet of the season against the Canaries in the last game. He will hope to have a similar game this weekend as well.
Pellegrini has preferred Angelo Ogbonna at the back and could continue to partner him Issa Diop, who is slowly finding his form. They will be up against Wesley Soares, who could prove to be a tricky customer in and around the box.
Arthur Masuaku seems a good fit at left-back in West Ham’s system. He is expected to keep his place in the side for this game while Ryan Fredericks will look to add some stability at the back if needed.
Midfield:
Declan Rice was impressive in spells on international duty. He will have to put in a strong performance in the middle of the park, against the likes of Jack Grealish to make this game a bit easier for his side.
Mark Noble was back from injury before the break and will have his work cut out against a Villa midfield that could trouble West Ham. He will add some stability to the midfield while Manuel Lanzini will start through the middle, adding some creativity.
Felipe Anderson made a bright start to the season and could be the danger man for Villa. He will start on the left wing with Robert Snodgrass possibly starting on the right flank.
Attack:
With three goals in his last two games, Sebastien Haller has been the saviour for Pellegrini recently. His battle against Tyrone Mings could potentially decide the outcome of this game.
Here is how they might lineup:
