Julen Lopetegui’s West Ham take on Keiran McKenna’s Ipswich Town in the Premier League at the London Stadium. The game takes place on Saturday, October 5, 2024, with kick-off at 3:00 P.M. Last Word on Football brings you our West Ham predicted lineup.
West Ham Predicted Lineup vs. Ipswich Town
How West Ham Have Lined up Recently
Alphonse Areola has started every Premier League match for West Ham so far this season, yet has only kept one clean sheet so far. This came against Crystal Palace in a 2-0 away victory in the second matchweek of the Premier League season. The French international has played 500 minutes of football so far this season for the Hammers, conceding nine goals in six matches played so far.
Read More: Wojciech Szczesny’s Surprise Barcelona Transfer Inspired By In-Form Star
Lopetegui decided to line up with a 3-4-2-1 against Chelsea in the Premier League where they lost 3-0 at home. The back three were Max Kilman, Edson Alvarez and Konstantinos Mavropanos. This was very different to their usual lineup where Lopetegui has opted for a four at the back with Emerson, Mavropanos, Kilman and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, with the latter starting in midfield. In the match against Brentford however, they did revert to their original formation, with a back four consisting of Emerson, Kilman, Todibo and Wan-Bissaka, with Emerson being replaced at halftime by Mavropanos. This was Todibo’s first start in the Premier League. He had previously only played seven minutes of Premier League football.
We expect Lopetegui to opt for a four-man attack, with three midfielders (two serving as wingers) and a lone striker. This was not the case against Chelsea, however, after a very disappointing result, it would be expected they do not revert to that system. Mohammed Kudus started at left wing against Brentford. The Ghanaian sensation has also played in all of the Hammers matches so far this season, with him yet to score or even gain an assist so far this season. Michael Antonio has started every league match for the Hammers so far up to the Chelsea match where he was replaced up front by Jarrod Bowen, who has scored twice already this season. Antonio did make a second-half appearance however was unable tohelp the Hammers claw themselves back into the game.
Hammers Recent Form
In their past five matches in all competitions, the Hammers are winless. Lopetegui has had a difficult start to life at the London Stadium, only winning two matches so far in his tenure, with them being a 2-0 away win against Crystal Palace and a 1-0 over Bournemouth in the Carabao Cup second round.
Read More: FPL Tips: Three Forwards Who Could Score Big in Gameweek Seven
In their last match against Brentford, West Ham earned a 1-1 draw away despite conceding within the first minute. This is the third consecutive match that Brentford scored in the first minute, with the Bees also scoring in the first minute against both Manchester City and Tottenham respectively. Despite the Bees having much more possession, the Hammers enjoyed more shots, albeit out of their 19, only three ended up on target.
Injuries for Lopetegui to Consider
There is only one player that West Ham has injured that will hinder Lopetegui’s squad selection. That comes through Niclas Fullkrug, who is expected to return in late October. He has been ruled out with an injury since September 9. Fullkrug was signed last season from Borussia Dortmund, where he made 43 appearances for the german side, finding the back of the net 15 times and gaining 11 assists. Lopetegui stated in his press conference “The rest are ready. We would like Fullkrug to be fit now but he is having little problems, they are not very important ones but it’s true we lost him from the first international break to the second one.”
West Ham Predicted Lineup vs Ipswich Town
GK – Areola
LB – Emerson
CB – Todibo
CB – Kilman
RB – Wan-Bissaka
CM – Rodriguez
CM – Alvarez
LW – Kudus
CAM – Paqueta
RW – Bowen
ST – Antonio
