West Ham enters a new campaign on Sunday, and for the first time in a while, David Moyes won’t have selection drama as they travel north to face Newcastle.
If there were to be any type of selection drama, it might come at the goalkeeping position because that is the only place West Ham has added depth this summer. In a season of needed depth, David Moyes and the Hammers have backtracked a bit leading up to week one.
The Hammers struggled in both matches against the Toons last year and will be wanting to make an immediate impact on their Premier League season. It’s tough to stay positive at times, but check out how the gang at The Green Street Hammers thinks Sunday afternoon will go!
The best news going into Sunday is that the Hammer’s only injury knock has been Angelo Ogbonna. The bad news, it’s Angelo Ogbonna. With West Ham shipping off more players on loan, the CB position is looking very thin. With all of that in mind, here is what we think Sunday’s Starting XI could look like.
West Ham start the new campaign with a similar Starting XI
The Green Street Hammers Predicted Starting XI vs. Newcastle
Fabianski
Coufal – Dawson – Diop – Cresswell
Rice – Soucek
Bowen – Benrahma – Fornals
Antonio
Bench: Areloa, Baptiste, Fredericks, Noble, Yarmolenko, Lanzini, Coventry
In previous years, David Moyes has been keen on switching up his formations depending on the matchup and his team’s fitness level. Sunday, we expect the Hammers to come out in a 4-2-3-1 formation with Michail Antonio leading from the front. The midfield duo of Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek will need to be the glue against Newcastle’s fast attack.
West Ham has depth in the middle of the attack but not a lot of coverage upfront, making Dithering Dave’s job later in the match interesting. By the end of the match, either Jarrod Bowen or Said Benrahma might be replacing Antonio in order to keep his fitness levels on track.