After an international break that seemed to go on forever, it is great to be getting going again in the Premier League, kicking off with the London derby between east and north. Julen Lopetegui has a strong if somewhat jet-lagged squad to choose from with only Niclas Fullkrug missing through injury. The Spanish head coach names an unchanged side from the starting eleven who beat Ipswich town 4-1 two weeks ago which means the back pairing of Max Kilman and Jean-Clair Todibo is retained, despite the strong showing of Konstantinos Mavropanos in the two outings for Greece.
Edson Alvarez with his well-documented disciplinary issues also starts on the bench.
West Ham United:
Areola I Emerson, Kilman, Todibo, Wan-Bissaka I Rodriguez, Paquetá, Soucek I Kudus, Antonio, Bowen (c)
No starting spot for Crysencio Summerville who must be wondering what he has to do in order to get noticed by Lopetegui. Even with Antonio and Kudus arriving back late last week following international fixtures, the Belgian speedster is named only on the bench.
