West Ham United will start their Premier League campaign with a clash against Newcastle United on Saturday, and will hope to begin on a winning note.
After barely managing to retain their top-flight status last season, the Hammers will look to finish higher in the Premier League table in the 2020-21 season.
David Moyes’ side lost to Bournemouth in their last pre-season friendly, but won all three of their games before that and will be in a positive frame of mind ahead of this game.
The Magpies tasted defeat in their last two pre-season friendly games, but Steve Bruce has a number of fresh faces in his squad and will also be confident going into this game.
West Ham United Team News
Playmaker Manuel Lanzini picked up a thigh injury recently and has been ruled out for the game. Tomas Soucek signed a permanent deal with the Hammers this summer, but has been self-isolating as a precaution and might not make the squad this weekend considering he has not trained with his teammates.
Lukasz Fabianski, Darren Randolph, Declan Rice, and Andriy Yarmolenko are just back from international duty and should be ready.
Predicted West Ham United lineup vs Newcastle United (4-2-3-1)
Defence
Fabianski is back with the squad and should replace David Martin, who was on the receiving end of the 5-3 defeat against the Cherries recently. Issa Diop and Angelo Ogbonna remain the trusted pairing at the back for Moyes. The duo were erratic against Bournemouth and need to put in a better performance against Newcastle’s Callum Wilson and Miguel Almiron in this game.
Ben Johnson was impressive late last season and deserves a place in the starting XI over Ryan Fredericks in this game. He will start at right-back while Aaron Creswell is Moyes’ best option for the left-back role in the West Ham United lineup.
Midfield
Skipper Mark Noble will yet again be a regular in the first team with Soucek yet to return to training with the Hammers. He should play alongside Declan Rice, adding grit and a bit of creativity to the West Ham midfield.
Up against the likes of Issac Hayden and Jonjo Shelvey, the duo will need to win the midfield battles for their side to take anything from this game.
Attack
Felipe Anderson scored West Ham’s last goal in the 5-3 loss and should start this game on the left flank. He will face a solid full-back in Javier Manquillo and will have to be at his best to test the Newcastle goal.
Jarrod Bowen scored twice in the same game and deserves to keep his place in the side on the right flank. Pablo Fornals was a regular face in the pre-season games for West Ham and might be the preferred no.10 for the new season.
Sebastien Haller was far from impressive in the friendlies recently and may struggle to break into the first team. The movement and strength of Michail Antonio might be preferred against the likes of Jamaal Lascelles and Federico Fernandez, who will not be easy to beat.