Manuel Pellegrini has confirmed he will field a different XI in each half in Winterthur at 2pm, with a mixture of seniors and youngsters in each team. The only players not available for selection will be Michail Antonio and Winston Reid, who have been working on their rehabilitation from hamstring and knee injuries respectively.“We have our first pre-season match at Winterthur on Sunday and this will give me the opportunity to see the players in a game situation for the first time,” said the manager to WHUFC.com “We will use two different teams, with no individual playing for longer than minutes, as is the normal situation with the first match.”
Winterthur will line up this afternoon, with former Hammer Raphael Spiegel in goal.
FC Winterthur: Spiegel, Hajrovic, Wild, Lekaj, Markaj, Doumbia, Radice (c), Arnold, Calla, Sliskovic, Sutter
Subs: B.Milosavljevic, Alves, Nsumbu, Gazzetta, N.Milosavljevic, Schattin, Isik, Saliji
West Ham will kick-off the 2018/19 pre-season with Adrian in goal behind a back four comprising Pablo Zabaleta, Declan Rice, Reece Oxford and Arthur Masuaku. Pedro Obiang and Conor Coventry will anchor the midfield, with Nathan Holland and Sead Haksabanovic out wide and Edimilson Fernandes playing behind Andy Carroll.
The second half will see the Hammers change their entire starting XI, with Nathan Trott in goal behind Ryan Fredericks, Issa Diop, Angelo Ogbonna and Sam Byram. Mark Noble and Josh Cullen will anchor the midfield, with Robert Snodgrass and Martin Samuelsen on the wings and Marcus Browne supporting Jordan Hugill.
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