West Ham United were one of the most productive teams in the transfer window, and they would require every inch of the strength to take on Liverpool in their first encounter of the season. The Hammers would be starting as underdogs, especially at Anfield as Liverpool were unbeaten at home last season.
Manuel Pellegrini is now the manager at West Ham, and he would be expected to improve upon last season’s 13th place finish, more so after making considerable inroads in the transfer market. However, the major challenge for the gaffer would be to gel all the signings together in a short space of time.
One of the major areas of concern for the East London outfit was their defence as they shipped in the most number of goals last season in the league. The Chilean manager has tried to rectify that by bringing in defensive reinforcements, and we could see a new look West Ham side on Sunday.
Team News
Usual suspects like Andy Carroll, Manuel Lanzini, Michail Antonio and Winston Reid are out of this game due to long-term injuries. Lanzini is likely to miss out the entire season as he has torn his anterior knee ligament while training for Argentina in Russia. Among the new signings, Andriy Yarmolenko is having a bit of a hip issue, and it can be touch and go for him, but we expect him to be fit just in time for the game.
Formation (4-2-3-1)
Last season under David Moyes, the Hammers played a system of 3-5-2, and it is likely that Pellegrini would go on to use his prefered 4-2-3-1 formation which he has often used in his managerial career. The players he has brought in the transfer market also indicates the same.
4-2-3-1 Predicted West Ham United Lineup Vs Liverpool
Defence
A lot of new faces would be expected to start, and the first one of them will be Lukasz Fabianski who was brought in from Swansea City. The Polish keeper is an upgrade over Adrian and Joe Hart from last season.
The highly-rated French centre-back Issa Diop will be expected to start in the defence. His quality can be ascertained from the fact that at just 21, he was captaining his previous side, Toulouse. Italian centre-back Angelo Ogbonna will partner him in defence. It will be a massive test for the pair as they take on one of the most feared attacks in Europe.
Free signing Ryan Fredericks will start down the right as the fullback played a crucial role last season for Fulham in ensuring their promotion to the English top flight. It can go either way for the left back spot between Arthur Masuaku and Aaron Cresswell, but we are going in with the latter.
Midfield
Mark Noble should pull up his socks if he wants to continue playing at the top level as he has been found wanting in midfield last season. However, we expect him to keep his place, and Pedro Obiang would partner him. Both of them would be expected to provide defensive cover and break down play.
The attacking outlet from midfield will come from all the new signings of the summer. Jack Wilshere will play in just behind the striker, but he will be expected to do his defensive work as well as the Hammers are likely to play most of the game with less possession. Andriy Yarmolenko should start from the right, and Brazilian Felipe Anderson would be expected to start from the left.
Attack
The winger turned forward, Marko Arnautovic will lead the line. He has been in good form in the preseason and would hope to continue to carry it forward.
