OPINION
West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini will be eager for his team to get back to winning ways against Leicester City on Saturday after suffering defeats to Brighton and Tottenham in their last two games.
The Chilean must also consider how best to replace winger Andriy Yarmolenko after he was ruled out for six months with an injury sustained against Spurs.
The ideal way, of course, would be to repeat his decision against Tottenham, where youngster Grady Diangana came on for the stricken Ukraine international.
The 5ft 10in winger produced an exciting performance off the bench against Mauricio Pochettino’s side, and the 20-year-old starlet should be trusted to keep his encouraging run of form going at the King Power Stadium.
Robert Snodgrass, who earns £40,000-a-week according to statistics website Spotrac, should also make way as Pellegrini prioritises attacking thrust against a Leicester side that can be got at.
Lukasz Fabianski’s inclusion in goal needs no justification after the season he’s having, while Pablo Zabaleta deserves to continue his fine run of form at right back. Issa Diop and Fabian Balbuena are automatic starters at centre back having formed a dominating partnership in recent weeks.
Aaron Cresswell failed to take his chance as he was handed a start against Tottenham last time out. The England international looked rusty and visibly struggled with Spurs’s attacking talent. Arthur Masuaku, while not the finest defender himself, has the attacking chops required for what should be a bold gameplan from Pellegrini.
Declan Rice and Mark Noble are the obvious candidates to start in central midfield in a 4-2-3-1 formation. The duo have looked good since the win over Everton last month, and should be capable of anchoring the midfield, here.
As mentioned above, Diangana should get the start on the right side of midfield, with Felipe Anderson continuing on the left. Marko Arnautovic ought to be pushed back into the number 10 position to accommodate Javier Hernandez, who should be given the chance to impress up front.
