West Ham travel to champions Manchester City on Saturday hoping to make it a positive start to 2025.
2024 was a really poor year for the Hammers, capped off with a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Liverpool last weekend, so the club will be eager to put that behind them and push on with something of a surprise result at the Etihad Stadium.
But Julen Lopetegui‘s preparations for this couldn’t have been dealt a bigger blow than talisman and captain Jarrod Bowen being ruled out long-term with a fractured bone in his foot.
However, as the Spaniard stressed in his pre-match press conference, it does provide the perfect opportunity for other players in the squad to prove they have what it takes to be a success at this football club.
So how does Lopetegui approach this one? With Man City in a difficult spot of form their own, there might be some confidence within the dressing room.
Tomas Soucek returns from a one-match suspension and should slot straight back into midfield, most likely alongside Edson Alvarez.
At the back, Jean-Clair Todibo will likely start alongside Max Kilman.
In attack, and in Bowen’s absence, many will be calling for Crysencio Summerville to be handed a much-deserved start, but given our opponents, it’s more than likely Lopetegui will choose to play Paqueta outside, with Carlos Soler in the middle as a more attacking midfielder but with the ability to do the defensive dirty work if needed.
That means Mohammed Kudus could start on the right, while Niclas Fullkrug should lead the line.
With all that said, it’s difficult to predict Lopetegui’s starting XI each week at the moment as he continues to rotate his squad in search of the most balanced and effected team.
Therefore, the below predicted starting XI could be miles off what turns out to be reality. It’s what I would go with, anyway.
