Nuno Just Gave Away His West Ham Team for Millwall

By Kris Gonzo | Senior West Ham Columnist (Follow on X)

Nuno Espírito Santo gave a huge indicator of what his West Ham team is going to look like when the Hammers face London rivals Millwall on Saturday.

As expected, the fixture has been booked into the early 12.30pm slot, denying supporters precious drinking time and hopefully circumventing some of the traditional fisticuffs and argy-bargy. But make no mistake about it, the team, coaches and players will be well aware that this game is a big deal for supporters.

However, it was in Nuno’s selection for the Carabao Cup defeat against Fulham, rather than anything he said to the press, where the West Ham boss gave his biggest hint about what he’s planning to do at The Den.

He’s going to go for goals.

Nuno protected his West Ham front four

West Ham had six different goalscorers in the 6-0 demolition of Wrexham, but just as importantly, every single member of the front four scored and played brilliantly.

Jarrod Bowen was absolutely sizzling, Manor Solomon was unplayable at times, Joël Piroe was involved in some excellent attacking combinations and Taty Castellanos produced arguably his best West Ham performance.

But the biggest pointer against Fulham on Tuesday night was that none of them started the game.

In fact, Nuno did everything he could to protect that attacking quartet for as long as possible. Bowen and Solomon were eventually introduced from the bench, but the message ahead of Millwall appears pretty clear.

That devastating front four looks ready to be reunited at The Den.

Millwall have been given fair warning

I normally preface each match preview by saying the upcoming team selection is going to be tough to call because Nuno is incredibly hard to read. On this occasion, I don’t think we’ll have too much trouble.

After all, we already know precisely how dangerous that attacking combination can be. Wrexham simply couldn’t live with West Ham once the front four clicked, with the movement and combinations making the Hammers almost impossible to defend against.

That’s despite Pablo Felipe scoring his first West Ham goal at the London Stadium against Fulham and giving Nuno something to think about. The Brazilian has received plenty of backing from his manager despite struggling for goals, with Nuno repeatedly praising everything else he brings to the team.

But I can’t see Pablo breaking up the attack which destroyed Wrexham.

Nuno rested all four against Fulham for a reason. With the biggest derby of West Ham’s Championship season arriving four days later, I think Millwall have just been given fair warning of what’s coming.