West Ham ‘s starting team for this afternoon’s pre-season fixture with Hertha Berlin has been confirmed, with manager Manuel Pellegrini electing to name an unchanged starting XI for the Austrian fixture.
On the bench, Angelo Ogbonna returns after missing out at the weekend. The Italian will join the ten substitutes who featured against Fulham, of which nine made an appearance in the second half. Despite travelling to Austria Mark Noble who suffering from a dead leg and Ryan Fredericks who was suffering from a groin strain have not been named.
Winston Reid also doesn’t appear in the matchday squad for the second game running and there are doubts whether he made the trip.
West Ham United starting XI: Fabianski; Johnson, Balbuena, Diop, Cresswell (c); Rice, Wilshere, F. Anderson, Fornals, Lanzini; Haller
Substitutes: Roberto, Zabaleta, Ogbonna, Masuaku, Sanchez, Cullen, Snodgrass, Diangana, Yarmolenko, Antonio, Hernandez
Kick-off is at 5 pm UK time with the game streamed LIVE on the internet
I don’t understand why the stream is never on the official site. All I can ever find is the live text updates. Not even a link to where to find the stream on Facebook. I think the club are guilty of assuming everybody in the world uses social media.
The official site has crashed
In Pellegrini we trust but it seems we lack width and often get ourselves into trouble with not enough options playing out from the back
Everybody can see out weakness is at full back. Friendly aside, teams have been ripping us apart down the wings for a long time.
Well I have to say we looked far better with Sanchez in midfield in second half. Wilshere is pathetic he is a bluffer in my opinion. I watched him closely in the first half and I was total fair to him. He did not want to make runs forward, and then when we had the ball he slowed it down to walking pace. He commits silly fouls, passing terrible at times. He cannot defend. When Sanchez came on at least he gave us some legs in midfield. Imagine if we could get a midfielder with legs ! I have no idea what Pelle is waiting for, he has also not solved his left back problem, I don’t know what he is waiting for there either. We also need a player with pace and power up top. Unfortunately Haller has no turn of pace which is a real shame. He looked unfit and I just hope he improves fitness. Fornals is not a winger so to my last point we need a winger who has pace and power up top to complement Haller or Antonio, Anderson, Lanzini. Finally the keeper we have signed had a very poor game. The plusses for me were Diop, Rice, Antonio and Yarmo looked better. At least this game proved we need at least two more quality signings a midfielder with legs and a winger who can also play up top who has pace and is prepared to take on his man.
Johnham, I know you mean well but at times you seem to have been watching a different game to me. Sanchez doesn’t do badly going forward but defensively he loses the ball far too often in dangerous positions then runs around like a headless chicken trying to get it back. He is one of the worst players I have seen in claret and blue.
Your vendetta against Wilshere is becoming laughable. Your opinion on his performances is badly tainted by your own prejudice against him and goes completely against the majority of fans’ judgements. You have already started knocking Haller, after he scored, assissted and generally led the line well and brought others into the game with his hold up play. He has only just arrived.
In case you haven’t noticed we no longer play the style of football that requires a winger to simply knock balls into the centre at every opportunity. We have adopted a different style of build up play. If we do need to hit crosses in we are fully equipped to do so in the shape of Snodgrass,Yarmolenko, Cresswell, Anderson etc.