Julen Lopetegui has named his West Ham United team to start Saturday’s 2024 Betway Cup clash against RC Celta de Vigo at London Stadium.
The Hammers welcome the La Liga outfit for the clash in east London for the eighth edition of the fixture. It is the first time the Betway Cup is being held since 2021.
You can watch the game live on our Official YouTube channel by clicking HERE! Coverage begins at 2.45pm BST.
Celta, based in the north-western Spanish city of Vigo, have been mainstays of their domestic topflight over the previous three decades and have enjoyed success on the continental stage too, reaching the semi-finals of the 2016/17 UEFA Europa League.
Head Coach Lopetegui has therefore named a strong starting XI for his first home fixture in charge of the Irons, the team’s final warm-up fixture before the Premier League campaign begins at home against Aston Villa next weekend.
Alphonse Areola starts in goal, his first appearance of pre-season after spending the summer at the European Championships with France.
Lopetegui returns to a back four, with Vladimír Coufal, Dinos Mavropanos, Maximilian Kilman and Emerson tasked with stopping the visitors.
Guido Rodriguez makes his first appearance in Claret and Blue in a midfield that will see him partner with Tomáš Souček, with Lucas Paquetá also making his first appearance of pre-season.
Mohammed Kudus scored the final West Ham goal at London Stadium at the end of last season, and he alongside Jarrod Bowen, who captains the side, will look to support Michail Antonio, who leads the line this afternoon.
On the bench, Crysencio Summerville and Niclas Füllkrug will be hoping to come on and get their first minutes in Claret and Blue. A total of 15 players are named on the bench, which includes first team players Łukasz Fabiański, Aaron Cresswell, James Ward-Prowse, Luis Guilherme, Danny Ings, Maxwell Cornet, Nayef Aguerd and Andy Irving.
The Academy of Football are also well represented, with goalkeeper Finlay Herrick joining George Earthy, Kaelan Casey, Gideon Kodua and Freddie Potts as potential options for the Head Coach.
West Ham United: Areola, Coufal, Mavropanos, Kilman, Emerson, Rodriguez, Souček, Paquetá, Bowen ©, Kudus, Antonio
Subs: Fabiański (GK), Herrick (GK), Cresswell, Summerville, Ward-Prowse, Füllkrug, Luis Guilherme, Ings, Cornet, Aguerd, Irving, Earthy, Casey, Kodua, Potts
RC Celta de Vigo: Ivan Villar, Starfelt, Mingueza, Iglesias, Beltran, Aspas ©, Jailson, Bamba, Mihailo, Manquillo, Damian
Subs: Vidal (GK), Cesar (GK), Carreira, Illaix, Aidoo, Williot, Carlos, Duran, Alvarez, Alfon, Rodriguez, Sotelo
Referee: Darren Bond
