West Ham assistant manager Alan Irvine and manager David Moyes will have to decide whether to stick or twist when West Ham gave Everton in the Carabao Cup last 16 on Wednesday evening.
The Hammers are in buoyant mood after the 4-0 thumping of Wolves at the weekend and after two Carabao matches against League One opposition, the competition now ramps up a gear with Premier League opposition.
Moyes will be watching on from home once again as his ten-day Covid-19 isolation period ends on Thursday. Issa Diop and Josh Cullen won’t feature on Wednesday for the very same reason.
Irvine will be in the dugout once again with coach Stuart Pearce contacting Moyes via telephone having overseen two consecutive wins and with Everton the opponents, there might not be as many changes as there were for the two previous ties.
The likes of Sebastien Haller, Andriy Yarmolenko, who picked up an award for performance of the third round after his outing against Hull, and Felipe Anderson should start at Goodison but there are questions in defence.
Ryan Fredericks is ruled out through injury and should be replaced by Ben Johnson. With Diop unavailable, Angelo Ogbonna could be set for his first League Cup start of the season. Mark Noble is also set for a recall after his toe injury, likely alongside Robert Snodgrass in midfield.
Here is how we think the Hammers could line up.
Having deployed five at the back for the last two Premier League matches, we think that formation will appear again this evening against Everton.
Arthur Masuaku should line up at left wing back again, with Johnson replacing the stricken Fredericks, who is out until after the international break, on the other side.
We have drafted in Jack Wilshere alongside Snodgrass in midfield, flanked by Yarmolenko and Anderson with Haller leading the line. Skipper Noble has to settle for a place on our substitutes bench.
Darren Randolph should start in goal as Lukasz Fabianski gets the night off alongside Declan Rice, Michail Antonio and Jarrod Bowen.
Having started in the last match in the competition, Harrison Ashby is likely to be alongside the substitutes as we believe Moyes and Irvine will opt for more experience at Goodison considering the opposition.
