West Ham United’s pre-season experimentation is almost over. Nuno Espírito Santo’s side face Portsmouth at the London Stadium on Saturday in their first competitive fixture since relegation, before beginning the Championship campaign at Burnley eight days later.
The West Ham vs Portsmouth Carabao Cup tie therefore gives Nuno his first opportunity to show which players have actually won his trust this summer. The club confirms Saturday’s game kicks off at 3pm BST.
West Ham vs Portsmouth will answer midfield questions
1. Who partners Mohamadou Kanté?
This may be the most interesting decision of all.
Freddie Potts has left for Club Brugge, while Tomáš Souček is unavailable through injury. talkSPORT confirms Souček will miss Saturday’s game.
That leaves James Ward-Prowse and Lewis Orford among Nuno’s leading options alongside Kanté.
Orford has made a strong case during pre-season. He scored an excellent goal against Stevenage before delivering the corner from which Max Kilman scored against Magdeburg.
Saturday would be an opportunity to discover whether Nuno genuinely trusts the academy midfielder once the results start counting.
2. Does Keiber Lamadrid start?
Lamadrid has been given substantial responsibility throughout pre-season.
The Venezuela international has played in midfield and wider positions as Nuno searches for the right balance following several major departures.
talkSPORT identifies the Portsmouth tie as a potential opportunity for Lamadrid to make his competitive West Ham debut.
If he starts, that would be the clearest indication yet that his summer performances have pushed him into Nuno’s immediate plans.
Nuno must begin settling his strongest West Ham side
3. Who leads the attack?
Taty Castellanos appears to have the advantage.
The Argentine has received regular minutes throughout pre-season and offers the most natural penalty-box presence among Nuno’s current options.
Pablo provides something different and has also been considered for a deeper attacking role. Portsmouth should begin showing how Nuno intends to divide those responsibilities.
4. How much youth does Nuno trust?
Orford is not the only academy player pushing.
Ollie Scarles has been heavily involved at left-back, while Josh Ajala and several other young players featured throughout the summer.
Pre-season minutes are one thing. Starting the first competitive match of the campaign is another.
The players Nuno selects on Saturday should reveal which youngsters have moved beyond development opportunities and into genuine first-team contention.
5. Does Joel Veltman immediately enter the picture?
West Ham’s move for Veltman adds another interesting defensive question.
Whether Saturday arrives too soon will depend on registration and fitness, but Veltman’s arrival increases the competition at both right-back and centre-back.
West Ham’s league campaign does not begin until Burnley on 16 August.
Portsmouth still matters.
After weeks of experimentation, Nuno finally has to start turning his pre-season ideas into a competitive team.
