Lucas Paquetá returns to the West Ham United starting XI for Saturday’s lunchtime Premier League derby with Chelsea.
Crysencio Summerville is also in Julen Lopetegui’s team, with the Dutch winger making his full Premier League debut at London Stadium following his summer transfer from Leeds United.
Both players impressed off the substitutes’ bench in last weekend’s 1-1 draw at Fulham and are rewarded with starts, as Tomáš Souček and Michail Antonio drop out.
Paquetá starts against the side he made his full West Ham debut against in September 2022, and who he scored from the penalty spot against in last season’s 3-1 home win over at London Stadium.
Emerson has shaken off the knock he took at Craven Cottage and starts at left-back against his former club. The Italian won the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Super Cup during his time with the Blues.
Nine of the players who started at Fulham are in Lopetegui’s side again to face their west London rivals.
That means Alphonse Areola starts in goal, with a back four of Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Dinos Mavropanos, Maximilian Kilman and Emerson in front of him.
The midfield will be anchored by the double pivot of Edson Álvarez and Guido Rodríguez, who spoke pre-match about their strong relationship forged during a successful spell together at Mexican club América, and their hopes of enjoying more success in Claret and Blue.
Rodríguez will hope to get the better of his Argentina national team colleague and fellow FIFA World Cup and Copa América winner Enzo Fernández in midfield.
Paquetá looks likely to fill the No10 role, flanked by Mohammed Kudus, who also played alongside Álvarez at a former club, Ajax, and Summerville.
That means Jarrod Bowen, who has a goal and three assists in his nine West Ham appearances against Chelsea, will lead the forward line.
The man he replaces, Antonio, is one short of becoming the first player to reach 100 Premier League goal involvements for the Hammers. He has 67 goals and 32 assists to his name going into Saturday’s derby.
Alongside Antonio and Souček on the substitutes’ bench will be goalkeeper Łukasz Fabiański (GK), defenders Vladimír Coufal, Aaron Cresswell and Jean-Clair Todibo, midfielders Carlos Soler and Andy Irving and forward Danny Ings.
Ings, of course, was West Ham’s goalscorer at Fulham last weekend, when he came on to score five minutes into added-time to snatch a point for the Irons.
West Ham United: Areola, Wan-Bissaka, Mavropanos, Kilman, Emerson, Rodríguez, Álvarez, Paquetá, Kudus, Summerville, Bowen ©
Subs: Fabiański (GK), Coufal, Cresswell, Todibo, Soler, Irving, Souček, Antonio, Ings
Chelsea: Sánchez, Fofana, Adarabioyo, Colwill, Cucurella, Fernández ©, Caicedo, Madueke, Sancho, Palmer, Jackson
Subs: Jørgensen (GK), Disasi, Badiashile, Neto, Mudryk, Félix, Nkunku, Dewsbury-Hall, Veiga
Referee: Sam Barrott
