West Ham United’s Premier League season begins this Saturday afternoon with a visit of Newcastle United to the London Stadium.
The reverse fixture last November produced five goals, plenty of drama and led to a managerial sacking – with history in danger of repeating itself for the Hammers.
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David Moyes had every reason to be optimistic when the delayed season finally came to an end at home to Aston Villa back in July.
The Scot exceeded expectations in his second stint, with January signings Jarrod Bowen and Tomas Soucek proving invaluable and Michail Antonio winning the first ever July Player of the Month award for his glut of goals.
Yet the sale of Grady Diangana and inability to successfully bring in defensive reinforcements will be a cause for concern for Moyes. The Hammers shipped 62 goals last season and face Magpies new boy Callum Wilson in Stratford – a player who has seven goals in eight career appearances against them.
Burnley defender James Tarkowski is a reported target, but it appears as though a deal could take a while and the Hammers’ leaky defence will remain as it was at the end of last year.
So how could West Ham line up for their first game of the season?
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How West Ham could look against Newcastle
Lukasz Fabianski showed worrying signs of mortality in his second season in east London after looking like the best signing the club had pulled off for years after his first campaign.
The Pole will certainly start between the sticks, with Aaron Cresswell retaining his place at left-back and Ben Johnson on the opposite flank. The youngster was hauled off during a chastening pre-season defeat to Bournemouth, but will likely be given a chance to redeem himself.
Angelo Ogbonna and Issa Diop showed signs of a burgeoning partnership last season, which was helped no end by Soucek and Declan Rice.
Yet in a bizarre turn of events, the Czech Republic international is expected to miss the game after coming into contact with a member of the national team who was COVID-19 positive.
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Rice will therefore be expected to partner captain Mark Noble in midfield, with Pablo Fornals reverted to a more natural No.10 role and Michail Antonio forced out wide.
The Englishman will be encouraged to drift inside so he can partner club record signing Sebastien Haller in the centre, with Bowen more than capable of delivering quality from out wide on the right.
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