West Ham United will lock horns with Olympique Lyonnais at the London Stadium on Thursday night, hoping to pick a win in the first leg of the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League competition. The Hammers will be coming into the match on the back of an encouraging 2-1 win against Everton, whereas the visitors recorded a 3-2 victory over Angers on April 3.
Team News
Ben Johnson, who missed the Everton win due to a minor hamstring problem, remains doubtful for the midweek clash, while Angelo Ogbonna (ACL) is out for the rest of the season.
Manuel Lanzini remains suspended after picking up his third booking of the competition against Sevilla in the previous round.
David Moyes will probably opt for his usual 4-2-3-1 formation against Olympique Lyonnais; however, he is expected to make a couple of changes from the last game for the upcoming home encounter as Alphonse Areola and Vladimir Coufal look likely to make their way back into the starting eleven.
4-2-3-1 West Ham United Predicted Lineup Vs Olympique Lyonnais
Defence
Alphonse Areola will operate in between the sticks for the home side. The Polish international would hope to put up a strong performance and secure a clean sheet on Thursday.
Craig Dawson will form the customary centre-half partnership with Kurt Zouma at the heart of West Ham’s backline.
Aaron Cresswell should be a starter at the left wing-back spot, whereas Vladimir Coufal will start on the other flank as the right wing-back. Up against Lyon, the full-backs will be expected to stay compact defensively.
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Midfield
Tomas Soucek will continue to feature alongside Declan Rice in the holding midfield position, with the latter being assigned more of a defensive role to shield the home side’s back-four.
Said Benrahma will slot in the attacking midfield position to complete the midfield trio. The Algeria international will be determined to engineer some clear-cut goal scoring chances for the front men.
Andriy Yarmolenko will have to settle for a place on the bench but might come in the latter stages of the game if needed.
Attack
Pablo Fornals and Jarrod Bowen are expected to take up the wide positions, playing on the left and right-wing respectively.
Michail Antonio is expected to lead the line for the hosts against Peter Bosz’s men in midweek. The Englishman will be hoping to make the most of his chances when he faces off against the Lyon defence that has conceded seven goals in their last five matches across all competitions.
