West Ham picked up their first win of the season away at Watford on Saturday, with a resounding 3-1 win that saw record signing Sebastien Haller pick up his first two goals for his new club.
Pellegrini’s attention, however, now turns to the club’s first cup competition of the season, with a trip to notorious giant-killers Newport County.
The Carabao Cup should be a competition that Pellegrini looks to take seriously this season, as a cup run would be greatly appreciated by the fans, especially as a top seven finish could be a huge ask this season.
However, Pellegrini may treat these early rounds as squad rotation, and to try out players who may be coming back from injury, players out of favour from the starting XI, or even start some youth prospects.
Even so, Pellegrini should not show any disrespect to Newport, who are notorious for getting results against top teams – which is probably why Sky are showing it live.
Here is the starting XI I believe Manuel Pellegrini will select for the trip to Newport.
