Declan Rice will lead West Ham United against Manchester City this afternoon as the Irons’ 2022/23 Premier League campaign gets underway.
Rice takes the armband for the first time since being confirmed as the new Club Captain, taking the responsibility over from retired midfield icon Mark Noble.
The No41 was also the captain the last time the Irons and City met, a 2-2 draw at London Stadium in May – a match which coincided with Noble’s final home game as a West Ham player.
Łukasz Fabiański starts his fifth season as a West Ham player in goal for the home side, while new No2 Ben Johnson is also in the starting XI alongside Kurt Zouma, Aaron Cresswell and Vladimír Coufal.
An experienced team also includes captain Rice, Czech Republic midfielder Tomáš Souček and Argentinian playmaker Manuel Lanzini, who himself is set for his eighth campaign in Claret and Blue.
Pablo Fornals also starts this afternoon, having been involved in the most matchday squads of any outfield Hammer last season (54, alongside Craig Dawson).
Jarrod Bowen will be hoping to start the season in good form, having netted twice in the home match with Manchester City last campaign, while Michail Antonio will be keen to make a positive start to 2022/23 as well.
Three summer signings take their place among the nine available substitutes to manager David Moyes in Italian striker Gianluca Scamacca, midfielder Flynn Downes and goalkeeper Alphonse Areola, who made his move to the Irons permanent from Paris Saint-Germain.
Darren Randolph is also among the players on the bench, as is Nikola Vlašić, Saïd Benrahma and Conor Coventry.
Armstrong Okoflex and Harrison Ashby complete the matchday squad, having featured for the U21s against Fulham on Friday.
West Ham United: Fabiański, Johnson, Cresswell, Zouma, Coufal, Rice (c), Souček, Lanzini, Fornals, Bowen, Antonio
Subs: Areola (GK), Randolph (GK), Ashby, Downes, Coventry, Benrahma, Vlašić, Okoflex, Scamacca
Manchester City: Ederson, Walker, Dias, Ake, Cancelo, Rodri, Gundogan (c), De Bruyne, Grealish, Foden, Haaland
Subs: Ortega, Wilson-Esbrand, Stones, Lewis, Phillips, Silva, Mahrez, Palmer, Alvarez
Referee: Michael Oliver
