West Ham United have the chance to ignite their spluttering season with a victory over newly promoted Wolves on Saturday.
The Hammers have suffered defeat in all three of their Premier League games this season, but earned a come-from-behind win against League One Wimbledon in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday evening.
Manuel Pellegrini must now decide whether to reward those players who came into the team and performed well in midweek, or to stick with a team that produced an improved performance, if not result, against Arsenal last weekend.
He’ll got for the latter, it seems. Nine changes are expected from the Hammers team that dispatched Wimbledon, with only Robert Sndograss and Issa Diop surviving that game.
Most of the switches are pretty obvious, with first choice players like Lukasz Fabianski, Ryan Fredericks, Jack Wilshere and Felipe Anderson all set to return. Pellegrini should resist the temptation to keep Aaron Cresswell installed at left back, though, with Arthur Masuaku impressing so far this season.
Wilshere and Carlos Sanchez are likely to return in the centre of midfield, while Fabian Balbuena should be given another chance to prove his worth at centre back despite Angelo Ogbonna’s goal in midweek. Michail Antonio and Robert Snodgrass should continue on the wings, with Andriy Yarmolenko failing to impress against Wimbledon.
Up front, £25million man Marko Arnautovic looks set to return from the knock he suffered against Arsenal, and keep his place ahead of Carabao Cup goalscorer Javier Hernandez. The Mexican, reportedly on £140k-a-week, is a good option off the bench, and he’ll likely be called upon if the Hammers are not winning around the hour mark.
