West Ham take on Arsenal at the London Stadium on Wednesday evening, hoping to advance to the fifth round of the Carabao Cup.
The Hammers overcame EFL League One side Lincoln City 1-0 in the previous round of the Carabao Cup and followed it up with a 2-0 success over Sheffield United in the Premier League and a 2-1 win against Freiburg in the Europa League. Since then, David Moyes’ side have gone winless in their last four games and are heading into this fixture off the back of an abject 1-0 league defeat to Everton at home on Sunday.
David Moyes would have been disappointed with his team’s performance last weekend and would expect a strong response against Arsenal, who thrashed Sheffield United 5-0 at home in their last game.
West Ham Team News
West Ham are expected to have a clean bill of health, but David Moyes will undoubtedly make a few changes from the side that was beaten by Everton on Sunday.
Emerson Palmieri served a one-game suspension last weekend after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season against Aston Villa and will be available for selection. But Lucas Paqueta and Edson Alvarez both picked up milestone bookings in the loss to Everton and will be suspended against Brentford on Saturday, meaning both are fine to feature on Wednesday.
Predicted West Ham lineup vs Arsenal (4-2-3-1)
Goalkeeper
Lukasz Fabianski has become West Ham’s cup goalkeeper this season and is expected to start against Arsenal in midweek.
Defence
Changes are expected at the back, with Moyes rotating his squad to keep the first-team stars fresh and handing the fringe players to impress. Having served a one-game suspension, Emerson Palmieri should walk straight into the starting XI and replace Aaron Cresswell at left-back. Vladimir Coufal could make way for Thilo Kehrer at right-back, while Konstantinos Mavropanos and Angelo Ogbonna come in for Kurt Zouma and Nayef Aguerd in central defence.
West Ham’s entire defensive unit have to defend very well in order to keep a potent Arsenal attack at bay.
Midfield
As Edson Alvarez is suspended for West Ham’s next Premier League game, Moyes is expected to start him in the cup clash with Arsenal. The Mexican should sit deep and protect the West Ham backline alongside Tomas Soucek, who will replace James Ward-Prowse.
Similarly, Lucas Paqueta’s suspension for the weekend’s game should see him start here, with the Brazilian acting as the creative glue between midfield and attack.
Attack
Up ahead in attack, Said Benrahma and Pablo Fornals could occupy the wide roles with Mohammed Kudus and Jarrod Bowen dropping out. Benrahma and Fornals will provide support on either side of Danny Ings, whose movement and link-up play could cause problems for Arsenal’s defence.
Antonio, Cornet, Bowen and Kudus will be vying for opportunities to impress, as West Ham look to oust Arsenal and advance to the fifth round of the Carabao Cup.