Julen Lopetegui has challenged his players to step up and take their opportunity in the absence of Niclas Füllkrug, Mohammed Kudus and Edson Álvarez when West Ham United host Everton on Saturday.
The Hammers welcome the Blues to London Stadium seeking a third home win in a row for the first time since October 2022, but they will need to achieve it without three experienced international players, with Füllkrug sidelined with an Achilles injury and both Kudus and Álvarez suspended after recent red cards.
With that trio unavailable, and two other unnamed players recovering from knocks suffered in the defeat at Nottingham Forest last weekend, Head Coach Lopetegui has called for his fringe players to take their opportunities to perform well against Sean Dyche’s side.
“Füllkrug is out,” the Spaniard told the media in his pre-match press conference at Rush Green on Thursday afternoon. “He is not ready. He is not working with us, so I think that he's going to be out for a lot of time more, unfortunately. After that, we have the players who are out because of their red cards, who are Mo and Edson, and after we had two little issues, but we have to assess and to check to look if they are going to be able to arrive to the match.
“I am no doctor so I don't know [how long Füllkrug will be out for exactly]. He started with a little injury but step by step it has become more complicated, and it's true that now, with the new treatment, he has to be out for the next two or three weeks, but I don't know exactly, because it depends what else he's going to have with the treatment, so let's see.”
In light of Kudus’s sending-off and FA charge which has seen his ban extended to five matches, and Álvarez’s second red card of the season for two bookable offences at the City Ground, Lopetegui was asked if he has reminded his players to channel their passion in the right way to avoid being reduced to ten men again against Everton.
The Head Coach said discussions had taken place, and he has full faith that his players will get the competitive balance right when they take on the Toffees.
“We talked a lot, and we talked with the players,” he confirmed. “They know that we have to put the focus to compete better and to create this kind of group with strength inside the team, in the same way, we have a big trust and confidence in our players and are not putting the focus on the players who are not available – Füllkrug, Kudus and Edson. I think that the other players maybe they can stay [in the squad] because we had a little problem this week.
“So, we are putting the focus on the players that are going to be main actors on Saturday and putting all our trust in them. Sometimes this kind of thing is a good opportunity to go one step ahead for players who maybe don’t play a lot, to show [in their performances] they can be stronger and to make it count.”
The starting XI will be confirmed at 1.45pm GMT on Saturday afternoon, 75 minutes ahead of kick-off at London Stadium.
