Julen Lopetegui has made two changes to his starting XI from the Premier League victory over Crystal Palace for the visit of Manchester City to London Stadium.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka comes in to the back line for his full Premier League debut, while Edson Álvarez is involved from the start, having made his comeback from a hamstring injury from the bench at Selhurst Park.
The Irons’ manager has re-shuffled the pack from the team that triumphed late on against AFC Bournemouth in the Carabao Cup in midweek, with Wan-Bissaka, Maximilian Kilman, Álvarez and Jarrod Bowen the four players retained from that game against the Cherries.
City, who have won the Premier League title in six of the last seven seasons, sat top of the table on goal difference going into this weekend’s round of fixtures. The Irons, meanwhile, occupy ninth on three points, and are aiming for their first Premier League win over the Citizens since September 2015.
Goalkeeper Alphonse Areola, who kept his first clean sheet of the season in last week’s win over the Eagles, returns to the side after being rested in midweek, with Łukasz Fabiański moving to the bench.
In front of him is likely to be a defence comprising Wan-Bissaka – making his first Premier League start in Claret and Blue – alongside the centre-back pairing of Kilman and Dinos Mavropanos, a trio who have impressed in the early stages of the 2024/25 campaign, while Emerson makes his 85th Club appearance, starting at left-back.
The midfield will be anchored by Argentinian defensive midfielder Guido Rodríguez, Lucas Paquetá and Álvarez, who is making his first Premier League start since being withdrawn at half-time against Chelsea on 5 May.
Captain Bowen, fresh from scoring his second goal of the season in the Carabao Cup second round win over Bournemouth, is joined in attack by Mohammed Kudus, who netted a stunning acrobatic effort at Etihad Stadium in the last meeting between the sides, while Michail Antonio again leads the line.
Lopetegui can call upon an exciting combination of youth and experience from the bench against Pep Guardiola’s side, with Academy defender Kaelan Casey and hugely promising talent Luis Guilherme named among the substitutes.
The manager could also turn to goalkeeper Fabiański; defenders Vladimír Coufal and Jean-Clair Todibo; central midfielders Andy Irving and Tomas Souček; and attackers Crysencio Summerville and Niclas Füllkrug.
Aaron Cresswell is absent as he recovers from a hamstring issue, while Carlos Soler is not available for this evening's game after completing a season-long loan move from Paris Saint-Germain late on deadline day.
West Ham United: Areola, Wan-Bissaka, Mavropanos, Kilman, Emerson, Rodríguez, Álvarez, Paquetá, Bowen ©, Kudus, Antonio
Subs: Fabiański (GK), Casey, Todibo, Coufal, Souček, Irving, Guilherme, Summerville, Füllkrug
Manchester City: Ederson, Lewis, Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol, Kovacic, Silva, Grealish, De Bruyne ©, Doku, Haaland
Subs: Ortega (GK), Walker, Stones, Aké, Rodri, Gündogan, Nunes, O’Reilly, McAtee
Referee: Michael Oliver
