West Ham United Head Coach Julen Lopetegui has made four changes to his starting XI for Sunday’s Premier League visit of Liverpool to London Stadium.
Guido Rodríguez and Tomáš Souček are both unavailable through suspension after each being booked for the fifth time this season in the Boxing Day victory at Southampton, while Łukasz Fabiański is recovering from the injury he suffered in the first half against the Saints, and Niclas Füllkrug drops to the substitutes’ bench.
Into their places come midfielders Edson Álvarez and Lucas Paquetá, who himself returns after serving a one-match ban at St Mary’s Stadium, goalkeeper Alphonse Areola and defender Vladimír Coufal.
Areola starts in goal for the first time in eleven Premier League matches, having replaced Fabiański in the first half on Boxing Day. Today will be the Frenchman’s 84th appearance for the Hammers, and 83rd in the Premier League overall for Fulham and West Ham.
What looks like a back five will be anchored by Maximilian Kilman, who has recovered from the collarbone injury he suffered at Southampton, and Dinos Mavropanos, with Coufal set to complete the central defensive three.
The wing-back berths will likely be filled by Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Emerson.
Álvarez will hold in midfield, with the returning Paquetá and Spain international Soler providing the creativity.
Captain Jarrod Bowen scored in this fixture last season – a 2-2 draw – and also netted in the Premier League and EFL Cup defeats at Anfield. The skipper moved up to second in West Ham’s all-time Premier League goalscoring charts with his close-range finish at Southampton on Boxing Day, his 48th top-flight goal for the Club and 100th in League football for West Ham and Hull City.
He will be joined in attack by Mohammed Kudus, who scored in home games against Ipswich Town and Brighton & Hove Albion earlier this season.
The substitutes’ bench will be occupied by goalkeeper Wes Foderingham, defenders Jean-Clair Todibo, Aaron Cresswell and Ollie Scarles, midfielders Luis Guilherme and Andy Irving, winger Crysencio Summerville and strikers Füllkrug and Danny Ings.
West Ham United: Areola, Wan-Bissaka, Coufal, Mavropanos, Kilman, Emerson, Álvarez, Paquetá, Soler, Kudus, Bowen ©
Subs: Foderingham (GK), Cresswell, Scarles, Todibo, L. Guilherme, Irving, Summerville, Füllkrug, Ings
Liverpool: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, van Dijk ©, Robertson, Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Salah, Jones, Gakpo, Díaz
Subs: Kelleher (GK), Tsimikas, Quansah, Endo, McConnell, Danns, Elliott, Núñez, Jota
Referee: Anthony Taylor
