5-1-3-1: The West Ham starting XI that should beat Accrington Stanley

The EFL cup game at home to Accrington Stanley has become the biggest game for West Ham this season.

The way the team is performing, we could be open to one of the biggest League Cup upsets in history, especially in our first season in the London Stadium.

Accrington Stanley are sitting 11th in League Two and have won three games this season, so you could look at it this way; this season they currently have more of a winning mentality than us, so we should approach this game with heavy caution and not underestimate in the fourth tier of English football.

So what team should we play to avoid any upset? Here’s my preferred formation, line up and explanation why…

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Goalkeeper

Randolph starts in goal for me. Adrian has had a great few seasons for us, but I feel his communication isn’t good enough, which is causing errors.

Randy is a fantastic shot stopper, doesn’t take risks and is very vocal, so he is my favoured option.

A rest for Adrian for the next couple of games might make him reflect on his performances.

Three centre-backs & Two wing-backs

I’m a big fan of the three centre-back option, going back to the classic Italy World Cup winning squad and the formidable Brazilian squad with the very attacking Roberto Carlos and Cafu owning the wings to create chances. Reid in the centre with Oxford to his right and Ogbonna to his left.

Reid in the centre with Oxford to his right and Ogbonna to his left.

Oxford and Ogbonna are the best ball playing defenders we have in the team, they also have pace and can cover the voids left by the wing backs on their respective side. Reid is the mercenary who will sit in a sweeper position, clearing up and ordering the four players in front of him.

Masuaku shows more attacking quality than Cresswell in my opinion, so he should be played more forward in the left wing-back position, rather than the full-back position Cresswell owns. Antonio will be my preferred right wing-back – playing more defensively but when called upon to attack he is our most dangerous player, but with his experience tracking back it would do the team good borrowing his presence in defence.

Antonio will be my preferred right wing-back, playing more defensively but when called upon to attack, he is our most dangerous player.with his experience tracking back it would do the team good borrowing his presence in defence.

And with his experience tracking back, it would do the team good borrowing his presence in defence.

The Defensive midfielder

Kouyate is the most versatile man for this position and will guard the three centre-backs behind him.

He has strength, pace and fantastic distribution, which will ensure we maintain possession in our own half.

But Kouyate has a fantastic drive on him from a deep position. If he does this then one of the wing-backs need to drop and Oxford should slightly push forward to cover Kouyate’s position when needed. Oxford covering Reid and Ogbonna when we are attacking is the perfect role for him.

Oxford covering Reid and Ogbonna when we are attacking is the perfect role for him.

The Midfield Three

Feghouli and Payet to go on the attacking wings and interchange sides. These two when defending should be no deeper than a couple of yards behind the halfway line when we are on the back foot. These two left out wide will make the oppositions full backs sit back preventing them

These two, when defending, should be no deeper than a couple of yards behind the halfway line when we are on the back foot. These two left out wide will make the oppositions full backs sit back, preventing them to attack from deep because of the voids that would remain.

When we reclaim possession from Randolph or our defenders, a long ball can be squared to Payet or Feghouli who can either pass it backwards, or run onto the ball beyond the full backs.

Manuel Lanzini will be the central attacking-midfielder of the front three. He can drop back and collect the ball from Kouyate, the wing-backs and the attacking forwards. He tracks back and starts the play by feeding the ball to our two creative players on the wings. He will be given the free role and will roam across the entire middle of the pitch, switching from left to right.

The Lone Striker

This is a tough one but my logical pick would be Calleri up top.

The reason I chose Calleri is because he has fantastic work rate. For me, Zaza isn’t suited to this role and only does well with a partner, someone like Carroll to knock the ball down in front of him to run onto.

Calleri tracks back and gets involved with his midfielders and there is no one better for him to link up with than fellow Argentine Lanzini. He always find himself on the end of the ball, but I’m sure that it’ll take just the one goal for him to get up and running, we just need to be patient with him and trust in his abilities – there is a reason Barcelona like him.

Ashley Fletcher would be my replacement sub, as his energy and impact from the bench would be more beneficial than starting the game, especially against a tired defence.

There you have it, my preferred line-up for the game against Accrington Stanley. Let me know your thoughts.