West Ham expected 4-2-3-1 v West Brom: 28-year-old ace omitted in three changes
By Will Butcher
Slaven Bilic is set to make three changes to the West Ham side to face West Brom at the London Stadium on saturday.
Target man Andy Carroll is likely to be rested as a precaution after being withdrawn from the 3-1 win against Southampton last weekend with a minor groin injury.
Joining the 28-year-old on the sidelines could be Cheikhou Kouyate and Sofiane Feghouli, as the Croatian manager looks to maintain his side’s resurgent league form.
Kouyate played at right-back in the Hammers’ impressive win at St. Mary’s Stadium, but former Leeds defender Sam Byram is expected to be fit after a hamstring injury.
Attacker Andre Ayew has returned from the Africa Cup of Nations where he represented Ghana, and he is set to join Manuel Lanzini in the starting eleven.
Former Marseille forward Ayew could lead the line in place of injury-prone forward Carroll, with Bilic likely to take the utmost care of any knock that the England international receives.
The Hammers’ number nine sat out the majority of the first half of the season, but his return to the side has seen him score four goals in his last four outings.
Lanzini is expected to come in for Feghouli, with Michail Antonio dropping back into right-wing after playing up front in a 4-4-2 system last time out. The Argentinian is set to play in the number 10 role, with January recruit Robert Snodgrass on the left.
Byram is expected to come in at right-back to offer the east London side more experience there, with Kouyate playing out of position against the Saints.
He could join new signing Jose Fonte, Winston Reid and Aaron Cresswell in defence, with Ireland international Darren Randolph continuing to keep out goalkeeper Adrian.
Captain Mark Noble will look to pull the strings from midfield alongside the tireless Pedro Obiang, who scored his first goal in claret and blue against Claude Puel’s side on Saturday.
Bilic has seen his side win three of their last four league games, and a win against Tony Pulis’ Baggies could see them go to within two points of the top eight.
In other West Ham news, Hammers must finish in this position for Bilic to earn a new contract.
We’ve launched an << EXCLUSIVE TRANSFER WINDOW NEWS FEED>>. ‘Like Us’ on Facebook by clicking here if you want 24/7 updates on all West Ham transfer news