David Moyes has named an unchanged West Ham United team for this afternoon’s Premier League fixture at Newcastle United.
Fresh from a morale-boosting 3-2 win over Chelsea at London Stadium in midweek, the manager has opted to stick with the same eleven players who started that game at St James’ Park.
The only changes to the 20-man matchday squad are on the bench, where fit-again Club captain Mark Noble and Arthur Masuaku replace Felipe Anderson, who has picked up a hamstring injury, and youngster Alfie Lewis.
So, Lukasz Fabianski starts in goal, behind a back four of Ryan Fredericks, Issa Diop, Angelo Ogbonna and Aaron Cresswell, who scored his first West Ham goal against the Magpies back in November 2015.
Declan Rice, who scored in the home win over Newcastle at London Stadium in March 2019 and also captained the U23s to Premier League 2 promotion at St James’ Park in 2017, anchors the midfield alongside Czech Footballer of the Year and midweek goalscorer Tomas Soucek.
Twenty-one year old Rice also captains the side again, wearing the armband for the third time in his short career.
Jarrod Bowen will hope to add to his two assists against Chelsea from wide on the right, with Pablo Fornals wide on the left and Manuel Lanzini playing in the attacking midfield role behind lone striker Michail Antonio.
Alongside Noble and Masuaku, the nine-man substitutes’ bench will be filled by goalkeeper Darren Randolph, full-back Ben Johnson, centre-back Fabian Balbuena, midfielder Jack Wilshere, and forwards Andriy Yarmolenko – Wednesday’s match-winner – Albian Ajeti and Xande Silva.
West Ham United: Fabianski, Fredericks, Diop, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Rice ©, Soucek, Bowen, Lanzini, Fornals, Antonio
Subs: Randolph (GK), Johnson, Masuaku, Balbuena, Wilshere, Noble, Yarmolenko, Ajeti, Xande Silva
