West Ham United will host AFC Bournemouth in their second round draw of the Carabao Cup and it will be a chance for Julen Lopetegui to show his ambition.
The Hammers will be back at the London Stadium tonight as Andoni Iraola brings his ambitious Cherries to East London and it will be no easy challenge for new manager Lopetegui.
Bournemouth have established themselves in recent seasons as a serious competitor in the Premier League and have built a team with a fiery attacking threat, something that the West Ham boss will be hoping his side can match up against after only two competitive games in charge.
West Ham managed to take three points from their first two Premier League fixtures so far, while the Cherries have only managed to tally up two points but are unbeaten as it stands with points shared in both games.
There is no doubt it will be an interesting game from a neutral perspective, with both sides boasting intelligent and tenacious talent in the attacking areas of the pitch and a high-scoring result would not come as a surprise due to both teams frequently being caught out in defence.
In terms of injuries, West Ham are expected to have a fully fit squad for the occasion with the only concern around Edson Alvarez last week, who returned for the clash with Palace last weekend and contributed to the side’s first victory of the season from the bench.
It appears that new signings are being slowly introduced instead of being thrown straight into the lion’s den, but it would not be surprising to see the likes of Niclas Fullkrug, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Crysencio Summerville starting this evening.
How could West Ham line up against Bournemouth?
We predicted that Lopetegui will go with a strong starting eleven in the all-Premier League side tie, making seven changes but maintaining the 4-1-4-1 formation successful on Saturday.
The first changes we expect to see are in the defensive set-up with exciting new signing and former Manchester United man Aaron Wan-Bissaka earning his first start in the right back role, while Łukasz Fabiański replaces Alphonse Areola in goal.
We predict that Jean-Clair Todibo will also debut in the starting eleven alongside an otherwise unchanged back-line featuring Max Kilman in the centre-back partnership and Emerson remaining in the left-back position.
In the centre of the pitch, we expect that Edson Alvarez will reprise his defensive midfield role replacing Guido Rodriguez, while James Ward-Prowse replaces Lucas Paqueta alongside mainstay Tomas Soucek.
In the attacking threat, we predict that two more new additions will be given the opportunity to shine with former Leeds United sensation Crysencio Summerville taking the spotlight from club captain Jarrod Bowen, while Niclas Fullkrug replaces Michail Antonio and only Mohammed Kudus retains his spot to secure progression to the next stage of the Carabao Cup.
With that being said, it will be an incredibly interesting clash for the fans if Lopetegui feels brave enough to hard launch the majority of his new arrivals and an opportunity to fight for their first-team places that could set the stage for a passionate performance under the lights.
