West Ham continue their pre-season preparations with a friendly against Hertha Berlin in Germany this evening.
It comes after a 3-2 win against Altach before consecutive defeats against Man City and Newcastle. Sebastien Haller was given his debut in the last friendly, a 1-0 win against Fulham at the weekend, and he’s still on the hunt for his first goal.
It is expected that Manuel Pellegrini will put out a strong side tonight ahead of the final pre-season friendly against Athletic Bilbao at the weekend.
Then it will be onto one of the toughest tests of the Premier League season with an opener against Man City.
Goalkeeper
Lukasz Fabianski is the number one goalkeeper but he played against Fulham and will likely play against Athletic Bilbao on Saturday. That opens the door for his stand-in Roberto to take the gloves tonight.
Defenders
Ben Johnson has made a big impact at right-back in pre-season and he should get another chance to impress today. If he does, it could be a sign that he’s set to be involved with the first-team next season. Diop and Balbuena should meet in the middle with Arthur Masuaku on the left.
Midfielders
Declan Rice is expected to push on and have a stellar season for West Ham. He’s right at the peak of his powers, while Mark Noble is nearing the end of his incredible run. He had a good 18/19 for West Ham but with changes afoot at the London Stadium it’s possible that ‘Mr West Ham’ gets less of a first-team role next season. He should start tonight, though.
Attackers
All eyes will be on Haller up top again and he’ll be desperate to get on the scoresheet before the Premier League starts. Tonight could be the night. If not he can open the game up for Felipe Anderson, Jack Wilshere and Pablo Fornals.
Watch it!
West Ham fans can watch the game for free tonight with the club streaming it on its Facebook and Twitter channels as well as on whufc.com.
Verdict
The results of pre-season friendlies are pretty meaningless but Pellegrini will want to get another win after the two losses against the Premier League sides. It’s a battle of the mid-table sides from 18/19, with Hertha Berlin finishing in 11th in the Bundesliga. We think West Ham will edge it.
Hertha 1 – 2 West Ham
This is the starting XI we’re expecting to see this evening:
