OPINION
West Ham United manager Manuel Pellegrini is expected to hand winger Michail Antonio a start against Leicester City on Saturday.
The 29-year-old made a big impact off the bench against Manchester United last time and, with Manuel Lanzini and Samir Nasri expected to miss out, he will likely get the nod against the Foxes.
Antonio showed that he was a potential game changer for the Hammers by the way he excelled in that appearance as when he is at his best, he is too much for most sides to handle.
He’s expected to take Lanzini’s place in the line up, while Pellegrini will surely opt for Ryan Fredericks over Pablo Zabaleta and Marko Arnautovic instead of Javier Hernandez.
Those will most likely be the only three changes that the Chilean will make from last weekend’s defeat at Old Trafford, as his side look to bounce back against Brendan Rodgers’s team.
Lukasz Fabianski has been one of the Premier League’s finest goalkeepers this season and will almost certainly start between the sticks here. Fredericks, as mentioned, will surely get the nod over Zabaleta owing to his pace which will be needed to stymie players like Demarai Gray and Jamie Vardy.
At centre back, Angelo Ogbonna has established himself ahead of Issa Diop at the moment and such he will most likely partner Fabian Balbuena at the heart of the defence. Arthur Masuaku, meanwhile, can expect to start at left back after his masterclass against United.
Pellegrini will surely opt for a central midfield trio after the failures of a two-man unit in the past. With that said, Declan Rice, Mark Noble and Robert Snodgrass are expected to start in the middle of the park.
On the wings, Felipe Anderson and Antonio will probably get the nod, while Arnautovic is the obvious candidate to start up front ahead of Hernandez.
