Julen Lopetegui’s Hammers face Arne Slot’s Liverpool in the Carabao Cup third round at Anfield. The game takes place on Wednesday, September 25, 2024. The Irons beat Andoni Iraola’s Bournemouth 1-0 at home in the second round to advance in the cup. Kick-off is at 8:00 P.M. Last Word on Football brings you a West Ham predicted lineup.
West Ham Predicted Lineup vs Liverpool
How West Ham Have Lined up Recently
Alphonse Areola has started every game for West Ham so far this season. This is apart from the Irons home win against Iraola’s Bournemouth where Łukasz Fabiański started in a 1-0 win. So far this term, Areola has a save percentage of 60% with an xG of 6.8 faced. However, Fabiański will be expected to start tonight against Liverpool. The 39-year-old kept a clean sheet in his last Carabao Cup appearance and also appeared in West Ham’s 3-1 defeat to Manchester City earlier in the campaign. This will be Fabiański’s 202nd appearance for the club should he start tonight.
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West Ham lined up with a 3-4-2-1 against Chelsea last weekend 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.
Despite this, against Bournemouth in the last round of the Carabao Cup, Wan-Bissaka and Kilman were partnered with Vladimir Coufal and Jean-Claie Todibo who is on loan from Nice.
Despite many players still being embedded into David Moyes’ defensively minded system, the new manager has shown enough bravery to to change his system, as evident against the Blues. In their 3-1 home loss to Manchester City, the Spaniard opted for a midfield three of new signing Guido Rodriguez, who was signed this summer for free from Seville-based La Liga club Real Betis, Edson Alvarez and star man Lucas Paqueta.
This was altered against Marco Silva’s Fulham, with the Hammers playing a 4-2-3-1, with Rodriguez and Alvarez in defensive midfield and Kudus, Soucek and Bowen in attacking midfield. Rodriguez and Alvarez have played with each other before at Liga MX side Club America, winning the Mexican title. However, against Enzo Maresca’s side, Wan-Bissaka was in midfield alongside Guido Rodriguez (who was substituted after 38 minutes), Paqueta and Emerson with Kudus and Crysencio Summerville playing further up the pitch.
Michael Antonio has started every league match for the Hammers so far up to this point where he was replaced up front by Jarrod Bowen. Antonio did make a second-half appearance however was unable to help the Hammers claw themselves back into the game against a Mareca-led side starting to find their feet again.
West Ham Recent Form
They come into this game after a crushing defeat to London rivals Chelsea, where they conceded twice in the first nineteen minutes. The Hammers had more possession but were unable to make it work. Moreover, they side had 15 shots, two more than Chelsea as well as more shots on target, but unlike the Blues, they failed to create any big chances. This leaves them 14th in the league, the lowest of any side who have won so far in the league this season.
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Before the Chelsea clash, West Ham played yet again in London, but this time against Fulham, where they were able to salvage a very late point thanks to former Southampton striker Danny Ings scoring a 90+5 minute equaliser against a side that has only lost once all season. The top-half outfit dominated the match having 21 shots to West Ham’s 11 shots however the hammers won’t mind.
West Ham Injuries to consider
Former Real Madrid, Spain and Wolves manager Lopetegui will only have one injury to consider ahead of their third-round clash. This comes through Niklas Füllkrug who picked up a Calf injury on September 9. There is no official date for his return, but it is doubtful that he will make an appearance against Liverpool.
West Ham Predicted Lineup vs Liverpool
GK – Fabiański
LB – Emerson
CB – Todibo
CB – Kilman
RB – Coufal
CM – Soler
CM – Soucek
CM – Paqueta
LM – Bowen
ST – Kudus
ST – Antonio
