With the regular season ending just over a month ago, West Ham are preparing for the Pre-Season, which will begin just under a month from now. We know who West Ham will be facing, Altach, an Austrian side but who will Pellegrini and Co be focusing on and what will the team look like?
The friendly match against Altach will be the first of 5 preseason matches. If we know anything as West Ham fans, its to expect the unexpected. With just under a month left until the preseason takes off, who knows who will be added or let go from the squad.
Last preseason, Manuel Pellegrini started off the preseason by playing two completely different 11s one half each. If we know anything about Pellegrini, it’s that he likes to stick to his game plan and make the players buy in on it. In this first matchup, I predict that he will do just that and play two different squads.
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Since I think we know what the gaffer will do, who might be on those squads and will they be strong or young? With the impending signing or new signing, depending on when you are reading this, of Pablo Fornals will he make the cut? If you have been living under a rock, take a look at who he is here.
Another thing that comes into play, how rested will the West Ham players that are on international duty? With the likes of Balbuena and Masuaku expected to play deep into their respective countries tournaments, I like to think that club veterans, Reid and Creswell will be in action for one of the halves in this match.
With all that in mind, I think we will see the majority of the first team playing together in one of the halves. I hope to see the likes of Fabianski, Fornals, Arnautovic, Anderson, Rice, Noble, and a healthy Wilshire playing together.
As always in preseason matchups, I like to look for youth and Academy players to make the cut. Key youngsters that football.london writer Sam Inkersole hopes to see are Marcus Browne, Nathan Holland, Connor Coventry, Joe Powell, Josh Cullen, Xande Silva, and Dan Kemp.
Mix them into the other half with the likes of Roberto, Zabaleta, Lanzini, Sanchez, and Antonio, and I think you have a solid outing for the first preseason match of the year. Some notable names I have left off the list are Chicharito, Obiang, and Ogbonna due to moves away from West Ham and Yarmolenko due to continual injury recovery.
In a months time, I am fairly certain that I will be wrong on a few of these predictions but that why we call them predictions. I am hopeful that Pellegrini will start with a strong squad here that will reflect on the outlook of the entire season. Let me know what you think and what you would like to see instead and until next then, COME ON YOU IRONS!