Don’t blame David Moyes for this weak predicted West Ham XI

His mantra since signing on as West Ham’s manager has been win games and take the FA Cup seriously. So, don’t blame David Moyes for his seriously weakened team he’ll deploy vs. West Brom.

Oof. Early indications show West Ham manager has some serious decisions to make ahead of his 4th round FA Cup tie with West Bromwich Albion. Forced on by injuries, Moyes will likely flirt with some academy player promotions and will have to lean on some depth senior players to fill out his limping teamsheet.

An injury update is needed, surely. Angelo Ogbonna a doubt, Felipe Anderson out, Robert Snodgrass ruled out, and Arthur Masuaku ruled out, too. That leaves the team pretty light on some key positions heading into a win or go home match with a motivated, returning Slaven Bilic.

Before jumping into the predicted team, ExWHUemployee has confirmed some crucial news regarding the team for this match. He has confirmed that forward Anthony Scully, right-winger/right-back Jeremy Ngakia, centre-back Goncalo Cardoso, and attacker Dan Kemp are all in the team and could feature on the bench or in the team.

With all the above information taken into account, here is the predicted XI:

Randolph

Ngakia – Balbuena – Diop – Cresswell

Lanzini – Rice – Noble – Fornals

Ajeti – Haller

Bench: Martin, Zabaleta, Cardoso, Reid, Sanchez, Antonio, Scully

Wow, what a team. There is a distinct lack of firepower in this team, as the pre-match information would suggest, but there is no lack of star power in the starting XI. Ngakia is predicted to start over Pablo Zabaleta due to Zab’s age, frequency of play in the last two weeks, and performance against Leicester City, giving the youngster a first-team debut.

The rest of the back four picks itself with Ogbonna and Masuaku both doubtful. Mark Noble and Declan Rice should be relied on for stabilizing the team, while Pablo Fornals and Manuel Lanzini act as wide attacking midfielders who will be responsible for getting forward into the opposition’s box to support the striker duo.

And, that duo is finally being used! Sebastien Haller and Albian Ajeti should both be starting this match, and the call up of Anthony Scully supports this. Ajeti looked strong against Everton and should be given an extensive run-out before the club look to bring in a new striker this window. Michail Antonio could also see game time but there should be a reluctance to use him coming off of another injury layoff.

West Ham will need to rely on possession-based football to see a win through in this match. If they can limit the time Matt Phillips, Matheus Pereira, Kenneth Zahore have on the ball to feed their strikers, the Baggies will be limited in their attack. On the other side, Lanzini and Fornals will need to rotate in and out of the #10 position behind the strikers to support them and create more presence in the box.

The Hammers can and should win this match, at home, against their former manager. It could be a galvanizing effort too, as any success right now should be celebrated by this injured and underperforming team. A lot of eyes will be on the manager as well as his reluctance to abandon a three-at-the-back formation has hurt the team in recent matches.