OPINION
West Ham United manager Manuel Pellegrini would be wise to recall dynamite attacking duo Marko Arnautovic and Manuel Lanzini for Wednesday’s trip to Manchester City.
The Argentine made his long-awaited return from injury off the bench against Fulham on Friday, and should be given the nod over the lacklustre Felipe Anderson here.
Arnautovic has also missed a bit of game time recently, but with Javier Hernandez excelling up front, the Austrian should have to settle for a number ten role behind him, with Robert Snodgrass dropping out of the team as a result.
Finally, Ryan Fredericks is a must to replace Pablo Zabaleta at right back. Those three changes could potentially give the Hammers enough to upset the Premier League champions.
There’s no question that Lukasz Fabianski should remain in place between the sticks. The Pole has been absolutely sensational since joining the club and Pellegrini cannot countenance dropping him.
As mentioned, Fredericks needs to replace Zabaleta after the latter struggled horribly against the Cottagers. Meanwhile, Aaron Cresswell deserves to keep his place at left back.
Fabian Balbuena is on the comeback trail at centre back, but this sort of game is not the right fit for his return from injury. Angelo Ogbonna and Issa Diop should start again on Wednesday.
Declan Rice and Mark Noble should continue their partnership in central midfield, with the Hammers skipper operating a little deeper than usual to try and diffuse City’s immense attacking talent.
Michail Antonio’s strong performances of late have made him undroppable on the right wing, in stark contrast to Anderson on the other side. The Brazilian has been poor recently, and Lanzini deserves to replace him here. As mentioned, Arnautovic should play in behind Hernandez in attack.
