Lukasz Fabianski and Ryan Fredericks are set to miss out on West Ham United’s Carabao Cup third-round tie with Oxford United on Wednesday, according to Claret and Hugh.
The site claims that if Manuel Pellegrini is to stick with the same model as in the previous round against Newport County, there could be up to four or five changes.
Tony Cottee admitted to Claret and Hugh that he would like to see a virtually unchanged side at the Kassam Stadium from the team that beat Manchester United 2-0 on Sunday.
Oxford reached the third-round after beating the Hammers’ London rivals Millwall on penalties at the end of August.
OPINION
Given the fact that West Ham are unbeaten in all competitions since the opening day defeat to Manchester City, Pellegrini will surely not be tempted into massive changes on Wednesday. The Chilean will want to keep together a similar core of players that have been on this impressive run but also use the Carabao Cup as a chance to utilise some of his more experienced options that are struggling for game time. The absence of Fredericks and Fabianski should mean that Roberto and Pablo Zabaleta keep their places from the second round. Fabianski has been in great form this season and is already leading the race for the Premier League Golden Glove award, and will have his eyes firmly set on the league. Fredericks has cemented his spot at right-back this season, averaging 2.3 tackles per game according to WhoScored, helping his side keep four consecutive clean-sheets. The impressive Hammers’ duo will no doubt return against Bournemouth on Saturday and will use the Oxford game to recharge their batteries.
