West Ham injury replacements heading into Gillingham away

West Ham have League One side Gillingham awaiting them in the FA Cup third round this Sunday, and with some concerning injury news here is who could feature in some key areas.

Lukasz Fabianski -> Martin, Roberto, Anang (Oh my!)?

The most important position on the pitch, especially for West Ham, the goalkeeper in a failed fitness test away from missing out on the Gillingham match on Sunday. This was always going to be the case, however, after Fabianski only recently returned from a hip injury sustained in September. He looks in good form, but overworking him is not going to fly right now.

David Martin, if available, should be the go-to. Roberto did get the bench position against Bournemouth, but he simply cannot be trusted in goal ever again for the Hammers, especially since he let four stoppable goals in against Oxford in the League Cup. Martin wasn’t mentioned at all in the injury report so he should be good to go, but even Joseph Anang should be ahead of Roberto right now.

Aaron Cresswell -> Easy Choice

When in doubt, get Arthur Masuaku in at left-back. The fragility of Aaron Cresswell is something supporters have gotten used to since he joined the club, and resting him for this match may have made sense, even if he wasn’t “limping at the end of Bournemouth.”

The more-attacking-than-defending fullback, Masuaku, is the obvious choice to start at the weekend. He was deployed as a winger off the bench against the Cherries and looked confident with the ball once on the pitch. Use of him could see a wingback formation be implemented by Moyes, as he used in the past.

Angelo Ogbonna -> Return of the 2018 backline

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The unanimous Hammer of the Year thus far this season shouldn’t be risked in this match and has earned some time off, to say the least. He was in prime form again against Bournemouth and has benched Issa Diop alongside Fabian Balbuena in the starting XI. A later FA Cup match will see his name called, but for now Moyes can rely on Balbuena and Diop to carry the mail.

Diop is desperately in need of game time so he’ll take the chance for sure, I wouldn’t be surprised if Winston Reid is also in contention to start over Balbuena is Moyes deems both center-backs need to be sat.

Mark Noble -> Uh oh…

The Hammers are very very light in the midfield department. Declan Rice is a locked-in starter right now, but with Mark Noble getting a toe injury against Bournemouth, the team could be without their captain in Gillingham. This isn’t a small issue, either. Against motivated, scrappy teams organization and discipline are key and should Noble miss the match, his absence will be felt.

Does this mean there is a lifeline for Carlos Sanchez? A call up for Conor Coventry? A reposition for Robert Snodgrass? An opportunity for Jack Wilshere? A deeper-sitting Manuel Lanzini? I’d back Snodgrass to start centrally and Lanzini to be pushed out wide.

Michail Antonio -> Felipe on fire

No Michail Antonio, no problem? That was certainly the case against Bournemouth and should be the easy replacement for this match as well. Moyes has identified Anderson as his Brazilian sparkplug and needs to continue his goalscoring against Gillingham to try and stay hot as the second half of the season approaches.

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Albian Ajeti could get a look as well, but with injuries factoring in I think we see Lanzini and Fornals out wide, Anderson up top as second-striker, and Ajeti coming on for either him or Sebastien Haller depending on the situation.