West Ham United return to Premier League action with a trip to struggling Fulham on Saturday, looking to continue their recent fine form.
The Hammers have won three on the bounce since being thumped by Manchester City, most recently a 3-2 victory over Crystal Palace at the London Stadium last week.
Manager Manuel Pellegrini must carefully consider how many changes he is to make from that contest, and it’s likely that the Chilean will limit his alterations to just two.
Attacker Lucas Perez is thought to be a doubt for the game, per Football London, meaning that Pellegrini could well revert to the 4-3-3 formation that was successful earlier in the season, with Pedro Obiang coming in in midfield. Pablo Zabaleta, meanwhile, must be managed carefully over Christmas, meaning that Michail Antonio should replace him on this occasion.
Lukasz Fabianski has been one of the club’s players of the season and will almost certainly start between the sticks, while Arthur Masuaku has experienced an upturn in form of late and will likely continue at left back.
Fabian Balbuena and Issa Diop are essentially nailed down starters in the centre of the defence at this stage and will surely start against the Cottagers. Right back Zabaleta could well miss out, however, with Pellegrini keen to manage the veteran’s fitness over the busy festive period. Antonio will likely replace him.
Declan Rice has been exceptional this campaign and is one of the first names on the team sheet for Pellegrini, he will surely continue alongside Obiang and Mark Noble in the centre of midfield. Perez, on a reported £80,000-per-week [Source: Spotrac], is uncertain for the game, with the polarising Obiang making sense as his replacement.
Robert Snodgrass and Felipe Anderson have been among the finest performers over the last couple of months for West Ham, and will likely start on the wings, while Javier Hernandez has been amongst the goals and will surely get the start up front.