Will we finally see some sense in this predicted West Ham XI?

West Ham are not expected to get any result on their Monday trip to Anfield in Liverpool, but pressure continues to mount and better team selection could inspire a better effort.

There is no reason to believe that a magical combination of players in the West Ham team could unlock and defeat the undefeated Liverpool team. That being said, an overly defensive system, much like the one deployed against Manchester City, will not provide enough offence to counter inevitable goals against.

Will David Moyes learn from his past mistakes? Will he use a 3 or 5 at the back system to try and block out the Liverpool counterattack? If he does, the last bit of hope in him leading West Ham to safety will likely fall apart.

Predicted team:

Fabianski

Zabaleta – Diop – Ogbonna – Cresswell

Snodgrass – Soucek – Rice – Anderson

Antonio – Haller

Bench: Randolph, Balbuena, Masuaku, Ngakia,  Noble, Fornals, Bowen

No Jarrod Bowen yet again in this formation, as Moyes suggested midweek, but a more balanced and attacking team set up. The key piece in this team is, unfortunately, Pablo Zabaleta. With Ryan Fredericks‘ injury, it will likely fall on Zabaleta to patrol right-back with Jeremy Ngakia as an option as well. Veteran defender over youthful exuberance at Anfield.

Moyes was also slated heavily in the media for having Felipe Anderson, Sebastien Haller, and Jarrod Bowen all on the bench against Manchester City, so I doubt he pulls this stunt again. As mentioned, Moyes hinted that Bowen may not start again, but Anderson and Haller are must-starts.

Lastly, Mark Noble has been dropped from the team in this predicted XI. There is an obvious sentimentality when it comes to Noble but if you treat him like every other player, he deserves to lose his spot after last week’s match. Let it motivate him and play Tomas Soucek and Declan Rice in a heavily defensive midfield duo.