Predicting West Ham’s FA Cup Starting XI vs. Birmingham

West Ham’s team for their upcoming FA Cup draw with Birmingham should heavily feature products of their infamous Academy of Football. With that being said, how much is too much youth and where do West Ham draw the line against a solid Championship team?

For Manuel Pellegrini, formation seems like as good a place as any to start with for this match, and I think he’ll be dropping his usual 4-2-2-2 for something more balanced and solid in the midfield. This match should see the team drop to a very similar 4-2-3-1 formation with the second striker being dropped for a creative midfielder who can provide some extra presence to the middle of the pitch.

This is as much tactical as it is necessary for the thin Hammers squad, especially at striker. With more options in the midfield available, switching the secondary striker (like Perez or Chicharito) for an attacking midfielder provides more balance to the team.

Now, let’s get to that starting XI:

Adrian

Johnson – Diop – Ogbonna – Masuaku

Rice – Obiang

Diangana – Nasri – Holland

Silva

This team features an incredible amount of youth talent. Highly touted Xande Silva should be getting his first West Ham start, Nathan Holland getting a chance to show what he can offer this season after injury, Grady Diangana get an opportunity for a lot of minutes to get into a groove, and fullback Ben Johnson gets a chance to show Pellegrini that he can contribute to the first team.

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The biggest outlier in this team is Ben Johnson. His name was selected because he has impressed with the U23 team and looked solid in a friendly against Dagenham & Redbridge last season. He is a marauding player who can carry out play from the deep positions on the pitch and provide that offensive spark up the field with his speed.

Let’s face it if West Ham are going to continue to move up the Premier League table it will be with a healthy and strong Pablo Zabaleta at right-back. With West Ham drawing Birmingham it gives Pellegrini the chance to mix in youth like Johnson and insulate him with first-team centre-backs and midfielders.

Speaking of which, Issa Diop and Angelo Ogbonna are starters in this team due to the week layoff ahead of Arsenal and the fact that the team is very light on centre-back options currently.

Likewise, Declan Rice and Pedro Obiang should be starters for the team. Look for Connor Coventry and/or Joe Powell to come off the bench to close out the match and continue their development as well, replacing Obiang over Rice.

The attack features West Ham’s best three forwards in the Academy. Diangana has already graduated to a weekly position in the team, providing speed and some tricky dribbling on the right side. Xande Silva made his West Ham debut in the 2-0 loss to Burnley. He should look better against the Championship side with players he is familiar with.

That brings us to the final piece of the young puzzle, Nathan Holland. At the fault of injury, Holland was passed by his counterparts in first team ascension. The skillful leftwinger is in an opportune position right now as Felipe Anderson has no viable backup in the squad as a natural left-sided attacker. Should Holland impress he could be neck-and-neck with Diangana for squad selection.

Lastly, Samir Nasri should get the opportunity to make an impact in his West Ham debut. His opposition is notably lesser than Premier League quality, and his teammates are young, exciting, talented players. Nasri will be the puppet master on the pitch, directing his young forwards to run the channels all match long. He is a veteran playmaker and West Ham’s success will largely be on his shoulders.