West Ham will face the challenge of Accrington Stanley who play in league two of English football. The Hammers will play the match at home ground and will be hoping to score some goals to boost their morale which are a bit down due to their struggles in the Premier League. Accrington are delighted to make it to the third round of the League Cup for the first time in their history and would be playing without any sort of pressure.
West Ham have made a bad start this season. They had to experience yet another humiliating defeat on Saturday as West Brom put four past them in a 4-2 victory at the Hawthorns. This loss followed on from another 4-2 loss at home to Watford, where they were two goals up before a defensive meltdown let the visiting Hornets back into the game. Prior to this they had lost 3-1 at Manchester City and 1-0 at home to Astra to send them out of the Europa League.
Accrington Stanley, on the other hand, have had a strange season so far. Beating Premier League opposition in Burnley in their first round League Cup tie was a fantastic result for the club, and more recently they have beaten Notts County and Portsmouth in League Two as well. However, despite their recent success, they are still in a very disappointing 11th place in the League Two table. West Ham should easily win this game scoring a handful but the defensive problems have not permitted Bilić to stay calm before the tie.
Team News
West Ham can hand first team debuts to two of their new signings in the match in Alvaro Arbeloa and Edimilson Fernandes while Darren Randolph is expected to come in for Adrian in the goalkeeping position. Sam Byram and Winston Reid are carrying knocks and will miss the tie for the hosts.
Accrington is boosted by the availability of midfielder Scott Brown who has recovered from an illness and can play against the Hammers. Forward Shay McCartan remains doubtful after picking up a dead leg in his international duty with Northern Ireland and missing out on Saturday’s match against Portsmouth.
Possible Lineups
West Ham United (4-2-3-1): Randolph; Arbeloa, Oxford, Ogbonna, Byram; Obiang, Kouyate; Feghouli, Fernandes, Tore; Fletcher.
Accrington Stanley (4-2-3-1): Chapman; Vyner, Beckles, Pearson, Donacien; Hewitt, Conneely; O’Sullivan, Clark, McConville; Kee
Betting Odds
West Ham win is priced at 2/9 and Accrington is given a 12/1 chance for a win. A draw is at 42/3. (Betway)
