West Ham United are back to winning ways in the Premier League following a 2-1 weekend victory versus Aston Villa. But they would undergo a sterner test on Thursday night against Sevilla in the return leg fixture of the Europa League Round of 16. The Spanish giants grabbed an edgy 1-0 win at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán and the Hammers, therefore, must script a turnaround at London Stadium to progress to the quarterfinals.
David Moyes has done wonders at West Ham since replacing Manuel Pellegrini who succeeded the Scotsman one and a half years ago. The Irons are now fighting alongside England’s ‘Big Six’ for a European berth and the quality across the pitch should enable them to deal with the ongoing injury crisis in the upcoming fixtures.
Predicted 4-2-3-1 West Ham United Lineup To Face Sevilla
Defence
Despite having Lukasz Fabianski in their ranks, Moyes has mostly relied on Alphonse Areola between the sticks in Europe as well as Cup competitions. The Frenchman, on loan from Paris St-Germain, is likely to get the nod once again this midweek ahead of the Polish veteran.
Vladimír Coufal is still sidelined with a groin strain and the young academy graduate Ben Johnson is expected to retain his right-back role. Aaron Cresswell might recover in time from an injury sustained against Villa and the central defensive pairing of Craig Dawson and Kurt Zouma must deliver a headstrong display to keep the tie alive at London Stadium. Arthur Masuaku and Ryan Fredericks remain the other fullback options if Cresswell fails to make it to the matchday squad.
Midfield
Declan Rice, one of the best in the league, should be driving the show alongside Tomáš Souček from deep down the midfield. Club captain Mark Noble might get introduced at some stage to offer his experience and composure in the middle of the park.
Manuel Lanzini had fitness woes in the recent past. However, the Argentine is now fit enough to feature week in week out and should offer his creative spark as a playmaker. Jarrod Bowen’s absence is a massive blow and the pressure would be immense on Pablo Fornals and Saïd Benrahma who must deliver from their respective wide attacking roles.
Attack
Andriy Yarmolenko was in tears versus Villa after scoring for the first time since Ukraine got invaded by Russia. The Ukrainian is tipped to spearhead the attack following Michail Antonio’s thigh strain picked up on Sunday evening.
