Looking for their first home win of the season, West Ham United welcome Crystal Palace to the London Stadium for this weekend’s exciting capital derby contest in the Premier League.
The Hammers have had a frustrating start to the season, and they could be heading towards a managerial change if Graham Potter doesn’t prove he has what it takes to turn things around.
The Palace clash comes at an ominous time for the English manager, given West Ham’s awful record against their Southern neighbours.
However, a second win of the season will go a long way to ease the pressure on Potter, setting the tone for an eagerly anticipated showdown at the London Stadium.
How West Ham could line up
West Ham will have to cope without midfielder Tomas Soucek when they face Palace on Saturday afternoon.
The Czech international was shown a straight red card in last weekend’s 3-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur and will be forced to watch from the stands.
That paves the way for French youngster Soungoutou Magassa, who is in line to make his full Premier League debut alongside James Ward-Prowse in central midfield.
Despite the heavy loss to Spurs, Potter struck an optimistic tone after the match.
He pointed to encouraging signs of new partnerships developing within his squad, hinting that he may not be tempted to overhaul his starting line-up for Palace’s visit.
That means Kyle Walker-Peters and El Hadji Malick Diouf are expected to keep their places.
Lucas Paqueta is also likely to continue in his advanced role, although Potter has the option of calling on Callum Wilson if he chooses to field a more traditional centre-forward.
Jarrod Bowen is set to start on the right flank, and the England international will be looking to add to his goalscoring tally against Palace.
Potential line-up;
(4-2-3-1): Mads Hermansen; Kyle Walker-Peters, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Max Kilman, El Hadji Malick Diouf; Soungoutou Magassa, James Ward-Prowse; Jarrod Bowen, Mateus Fernandes, Crycensio Summerville; Lucas Paqueta.