West Ham have rung the changes for their Premier League clash against Cardiff City on Tuesday night, according to a club insider.
Ex-WHU Employee, who is a super-reliable source of Irons news, reported on his personal Twitter account three hours before kick-off that manager Manuel Pellegrini has made alterations to the side that won 3-0 at Newcastle United on Saturday.
He explained “there are a number of changes tonight” but stopped short of revealing who were the players coming into the home side’s XI at the London Stadium and those dropping out.
There are a number of changes tonight in what is such an important game! Need back to back wins
— ExWHUEmployee (@ExWHUEmployee) December 4, 2018
OPINION
With defenders Aaron Cresswell and Fabian Balbuena fitness doubts heading in to the match against 16th-placed Cardiff and concerns over whether Pablo Zabaleta can start his 12th league match of the season following the distance covered by his 33-year-old legs against Newcastle on Saturday, there are likely to be significant changes at the back for the home side. Further up the pitch, Pellegrini must decide whether to persist with the two-pronged attack of Marko Arnautovic and Javier Hernandez after it worked so well at St James’ Park. The manager’s instincts are to be attacking and, if he is, it is hard to see Cardiff getting anything out of this game, even if Issa Diop has new defensive allies. The threat of Arnautovic and the outstanding form of Felipe Anderson mean West Ham should be able to create plenty of chances against Neil Warnock’s visitors as they seek back-to-back wins for the first time since January 2017.