Alese may get his FA Cup chance
Tired Irons limbs are about to get a well deserved and overdue rest!
With injuries having kicked in and the defence noticeably stretched with three major injuries, the Hammers are heading into a decent break without a Premier League game.
That arrives on the 12th of the month when the rearranged fixture against Norwich City is played at the London Stadium.
Ahead of that we have the FA Cup clash against Leeds at home next Sunday, which gives the manager a chance to play some of the youngsters who looked good in the final Europa League Cup clash against Dinamo Zagreb.
I would expect the likes of Rice, Soucek, Dawson and Antonio to get a rest for the FA Cup match and Alese and Longelo to get their chances. Mark Noble is also booked for a return to action.
Vlasic looks certain to get his chance in Benrahma’s Afcon absence and Lanzini too is set for inclusion given he has played fewer games than most and is in amazing form. The FA Cup match may also see Fredericks make a long overdue return.
But centrally the rest comes at just the right time and although it’s as well not to get to indifferent to oppositions, clearly Leeds and Norwich aren’t as intimidating as some.
COYI
Not as intimidating as some? Like Brentford -brighton -southampton .They went well !!!
For the record I didn’t fancy us against any of them
Not to mention the little trip to OT on the 22nd- will the prospective new signings be ready? Or are we gonna throw Baptiste in at the deep end? Will Antonio have a back-up? We did have weekdays free this month till they rearranged the Canaries match.
A very well earned break too. Fingers crossed that the players rest up and recuperate then return in fine fettle. What an incredible points and goals scored tally for the entire year 2021, unprecedented!
It’s likely that we’ll play a mix and match team for the cup game.
Here’s my starting 11.
Areola, Ashby, Baptiste,Elese , Longelo, Noble, Kral, Chester’s,Oko flex, Yarmolenko, Vlasic
That’s a sure fire way to cut down on our fixtures.
I would go with something similar Dj, the u23’s backline played well against Zagreb, there is no reason why they shouldn’t get another opportunity against Leeds it was the senior players who let us down, so I would leave Yarmolenko out, if Fredericks is fit, play him as a winger and maybe Fornals. So Areola, Ashby, Alese, Baptiste, Longelo, Fredericks, Noble Kral, Fornals, Chesters and Okoflex or Perkins, what we have to be careful of is Leeds overrunning Kral and Noble in Midfield.