West Ham United‘s 2019-20 season went from bad to worse when they were dumped out of the FA Cup by Championship side West Bromwich Albion. The Hammers are 17th in the Premier League table, level on points with Bournemouth and Watford.
David Moyes’ side have an incredibly tough midweek fixture as they host league leaders Liverpool, who have dropped just one point in the entirety of the season so far.
West Ham have won just three of their last 17 Premier League fixtures, and head into this game as massive underdogs.
West Ham Team News
West Ham have a major injury crisis on their hands. The likes of Lukasz Fabianski, Ryan Fredericks, Jack Wilshere, Felipe Anderson, and Andriy Yarmolenko have all been ruled out for this difficult clash against Liverpool.
Arthur Masuaku and Robert Snodgrass have a 50% chance of playing in Wednesday night’s game.
Let’s take a look at the possible team that Moyes could put out for the game against Liverpool:
Predicted West Ham Lineup vs Liverpool
Goalkeeper
Darren Randolph will continue in goal for the Hammers due to the injury to first-choice keeper Lukasz Fabianski.
Defence
We could perhaps see Moyes go with a five-man defence, as he did against Leicester City. Fabián Balbuena, Angelo Ogbonna, and Issa Diop could start as the three central defenders in the West Ham lineup. Aaron Cresswell could also start, having played in that position against Leicester City.
If Masuaku is fit, he could start as the left wing-back, otherwise Cresswell should retain his place.
Pablo Zabaleta should start on the opposite side as the right wing-back for the Hammers against Liverpool, and he will have a tough game on his hands with Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold set to play on his side of the pitch.
Midfield
Moyes will try to make it difficult for Liverpool to play and flood the midfield with several players. Declan Rice should start as the deepest midfielder, but Carlos Sánchez will most likely lose his position in the West Ham lineup after a dreadful performance against West Brom.
We could see Mark Noble start in midfield, playing alongside Rice. Michail Antonio could start as the right-sided midfielder, having played the last two games off the bench. One of Pablo Fornals or Manuel Lanzini could play off the left.
Attack
Sebastien Haller should play as the lone striker for West Ham. He has managed just six goals so far this season, and will hope to add to his tally against Liverpool.
Playing Haller would be a big mistake West Ham is going to be playing defensively they need someone up top who isn’t lazy and has a little bit of speed or creativity.