Moyes could make as many as eight changes from the defeat at Brentford
West Ham United is in action on Thursday night, where David Moyes’ side will look to reach the final of the Europa Conference League in the second leg of the semi-final against AZ Alkmaar.
The Hammers are on the path to winning their first European trophy since 1968 and bring success to override their disappointing Premier League season.
In the first leg, Alkmaar shocked the hosts in the first half as they took the lead through Tijjani Reijnders through an outside-of-the-box strike.
The Irons came to life in the second half, with Said Benrahma and Michail Antonio securing a first-leg win to take to the Netherlands.
The last time out in the Premier League wasn’t as successful for the east Londoners, as they lost 2-0 to Brentford in a poor display from a weakened squad.
How could West Ham United line up against AZ Alkmaar?
Moyes is expected to make eight changes following the loss, as expected through his heavily rotated squad to ensure fitness ahead of the all-important second leg.
Alphonse Areola will likely take over between the sticks from Lukasz Fabianski who played against Brentford on Sunday, even if the latter has an outstanding record at saving penalties.
The Frenchman has been West Ham’s number one in the competition and will almost certainly start ahead of the Pole following the weekend’s rotation.
In defense, Aaron Cresswell should come back in for Emerson at left-back who featured on Sunday, the Englishman has started five of his last six appearances in the competition this season.
Kurt Zouma and Nayef Aguerd are expected to be partnered in central defense in an unchanged combination from the defeat at the Gtech Community Stadium.
The Moroccan was hailed as “impressive” by Ian Wright on BBC’s Match of the Day – as per football. London – following West Ham’s draw with Newcastle United earlier this season has been a strong influence on Zouma at center-back.
Thilo Kehrer should be set to replace Ben Johnson at right-back who started last Sunday. The Germany international has stood in during the absence of Vladimir Coufal who has travelled with the squad ahead of the clash but may fall short of Kehrer with him only just returning from injury.
The midfield pairing of Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek kept the side ticking in the first leg. The Englishman was on the bench for the first half of proceedings at Brentford, with Flynn Downes starting instead. However, he could drop out on this occasion.
Rice maintained a passing accuracy rate of 93% at the London Stadium against Alkmaar as per Sofascore, showing once more how integral he is to Moyes’ midfield.
There will be a complete reshuffle to the attack that was on show last weekend in the defeat to Thomas Frank’s side.
Maxwell Cornet, Manuel Lanzini, Pablo Fornals, and Danny Ings all started on Sunday and are due to depart from the starting XI to make way for some of the club’s star performers in the European competition.
Jarrod Bowen will return to the left side, and Lucas Paqueta should feature in the middle with the pair having bagged 15 goals between them for the Hammers in all competitions this campaign.
Undoubtedly the man of the match in the first leg was Said Benrahma, who earned a Sofascore match rating of 8.2, the Algerian was at his best and could be the difference maker to take his team to the final.
Up top, Michail Antonio is expected to be fit to start ahead of £125k-per-week Ings who has only scored once in his last 14 outings.
After limping off in the first leg, Moyes confirmed in the pre-match press conference that the club’s top scorer had returned to the squad after doubts, the 33-year-old was praised for his “crazy” effort in leading the line by Kehrer after the game.
West Ham United predicted XI: Areola; Cresswell, Zouma, Aguerd, Kehrer; Soucek, Rice; Bowen, Paqueta, Benrahma; Antonio.
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