West Ham United will travel to the Kassam Stadium to take on Oxford United in the third round of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night. The Hammers come into this clash after winning four of their last five matches across all competitions. The London side has also not conceded a single goal in each of their past four outings. Hence, Manuel Pellegrini will be confident about his side’s chances of securing a victory on the road against Karl Robinson’s men. The Hammers could set-up in a 4-1-4-1 formation with Albian Ajeti expected to lead the line up top. Here is our 4-1-4-1 West Ham United predicted lineup Vs Oxford United.
4-1-4-1 West Ham United Predicted Lineup Vs Oxford United
Defence
Roberto Jiménez Gago will play in between the sticks for the East London outfit while Łukasz Fabiański enjoys some well-deserved rest in midweek. Both Issa Diop and Fabian Balbuena could lineup at the heart of Pellegrini’s backline as they try to keep things tidy at the back versus Oxford.
Both defenders should be confident about their chances of securing another clean sheet after the Hammers managed to earn four consecutive shutouts on all fronts.
Pablo Zabaleta will hope to make a positive impact while assuming the duties of a right-back. Aaron Cresswell will continue to play on the other side as the left-back after his goal-scoring heroics against Manchester United last weekend.
Midfield
Carlos Sanchez will operate as the defensive midfielder as he sits just in front of the West Ham backline hoping to intercept possession for his side at the centre of the park. Both Jack Wilshere and Pablo Fornals will lineup just ahead of him as they look to dictate play and create a few goal-scoring chances in the Oxford half.
Robert Snodgrass could get the nod to start on the right flank while Felipe Anderson could use his trickery and guile to make an impact on the other side as the left-winger.
Attack
Sebastien Haller is likely to be rested for this League Cup clash away at Oxford. Therefore, Pellegrini could give his new summer recruit Albian Ajeti a chance to shine in his first-team. The Swiss striker had a prolific goal-scoring record at FC Basel so he will be expected to find the back of the net for West Ham on Wednesday night.