West Ham United are in EFL Cup action this evening as they host London rivals Chelsea at the London Stadium.
The Hammers not only won their last EFL Cup game with a 1-0 home win over League Two side Accrington Stanley, but have now won their last two Premier League league games 1-0 as well, beating Crystal Palace and Sunderland.
Manager Slaven Bilic will be hoping to keep the momentum going after a slow start to the season, but he has made some changes to his side this evening.
Darren Randolph replaces Adrian in goal, Aaron Cresswell returns to the side having been suspended against Sunderland, whilst Michail Antonio appears to be playing up front, given that the likes of Manuel Lanzini, Dimitri Payet and Edimilson Fernandes are all starting.
Bilic has been handed a major boost as Andre Ayew – ruled out since suffering an injury 35 minutes into his West Ham debut against Chelsea in August – is on the bench, alongside the likes of Simone Zaza, Havard Nordtveit and Sofiane Feghouli.
Meanwhile, Chelsea appear to have found the magic formula under Antonio Conte, as they’ve won their last three games since switching to a 3-4-2-1 system, claiming 2-0, 3-0 and 4-0 wins in their last three games.
Conte has though switched up some of his side since Sunday’s thrashing of Manchester United, with Asmir Begovic coming in for goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, and John Terry coming back into defence.
Youth academy products Ola Aina and Nathaniel Chalobah are handed rare starts, whilst Willian returns to the starting line-up, and summer signing Michy Batshuayi – once courted by West Ham – leads the line.
First-team regulars Nemanja Matic, Eden Hazard and Diego Costa are all on the bench, alongside young striker Dominic Solanke.
West Ham lineup
Starting:
- Darren Randolph
- Aaron Cresswell
- Angelo Ogbonna
- Winston Reid
- Michail Antonio
- Edimilson Fernandes
- Cheikhou Kouyaté
- Manuel Lanzini
- Mark Noble
- Pedro Obiang
- Dimitri Payet
Substitutes: Adrián, James Collins, Sofiane Feghouli, Håvard Nordtveit, André Ayew, Ashley Fletcher, Simone Zaza.
Chelsea lineup
Starting:
- Asmir Begović
- Ola Aina
- César Azpilicueta
- Gary Cahill
- David Luiz
- John Terry
- Nathaniel Chalobah
- N’Golo Kanté
- Oscar
- Willian
- Michy Batshuayi
Substitutes: Eduardo , Marcos Alonso, Eden Hazard, Nemanja Matić, Pedro Rodríguez, Diego Costa, Dominic Solanke.
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