James Ward-Prowse makes his West Ham United debut in Sunday’s Premier League derby with Chelsea at London Stadium.
The England midfielder comes into the side in place of Pablo Fornals in the only change from the season-opening 1-1 draw at AFC Bournemouth last weekend.
The 29-year-old makes his 344th Premier League appearance and his first for the Hammers, having made all 343 previous appearances for the only other club he has played a professional match for before today, Southampton.
Ward-Prowse kicks-off one goal short of 50 in the Premier League, and one direct free-kick goal shy of equaling David Beckham’s all-time record of 18.
As he did at Bournemouth, Kurt Zouma captains the Irons against his former club. The France centre-back played 99 Premier League matches and 151 times overall for the Blues between 2014-21 before joining West Ham.
Another former Chelsea player, Emerson, starts at left-back. The Italy international was on Chelsea’s books between 2017-22 and appeared 71 times in all competitions.
Zouma’s fellow France international Alphonse Areola continues in goal after being included ahead of Łukasz Fabiański and wears a West Ham shirt for the 43rd time.
The back four is completed by Czech Republic international Vladimír Coufal and his fellow UEFA Europa Conference League final starter Nayef Aguerd.
Ward-Prowse slots into the midfield alongside Coufal’s compatriot Tomáš Souček, with the latter looking to score his 23rd West Ham goal on his 157th appearance since arriving from Slavia Prague in January 2020.
The front four is the same quartet who started in Dorset eight days ago.
Lucas Paquetá will wear the No10 shirt and could fill that role in the team, with Jarrod Bowen flying down the right wing and Saïd Benrahma on the left.
Bowen scored West Ham’s goal at Vitality Stadium and is four short of 100 senior goals for Hereford United, Hull City and the Hammers. The 26-year-old makes his 299th senior appearance in club football this afternoon.
Michail Antonio will lead the line, with the No9 seeking to add to his Club record haul of 61 Premier League goals on his 230th top-flight appearance for the Irons.
Summer signing Edson Álvarez is named among the nine substitutes, while Aaron Cresswell returns to the matchday squad, but Thilo Kehrer is absent.
West Ham United: Areola, Coufal, Zouma ©, Aguerd, Emerson, Ward-Prowse, Souček, Bowen, Paquetá, Benrahma, Antonio
Subs: Fabiański (GK), Johnson, Cresswell, Ogbonna, Álvarez, Fornals, Cornet, Ings, Mubama
Chelsea: Sánchez, Gusto, Disasi, Thiago Silva, Colwill, Chilwell ©, Fernández, Gallagher, Chukwuemeka, Sterling, Jackson
Subs: Bergström (GK), Cucurella, Ugochukwu, Maatsen, Humphreys, Caicedo, Madueke, Mudryk, Burstow
Referee: John Brooks
