West Ham United begin their Championship promotion push away to Burnley on Sunday, and Nuno Espírito Santo already has several major selection decisions to make for his first league starting XI.
The Hammers warmed up for Turf Moor with a 3-1 Carabao Cup victory over Portsmouth, where Taty Castellanos scored twice and Jarrod Bowen also found the net. Lewis Orford was handed a start in midfield and impressed alongside the returning Edson Álvarez.
There could still be changes for Burnley v West Ham, particularly with Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s future uncertain and Manor Solomon now available.
Burnley v West Ham predicted line-up
Goalkeeper: Mads Hermansen
Hermansen started against Portsmouth and should retain his place for the Championship opener.
Nuno has Alphonse Areola available as competition, but changing goalkeeper after a winning start would be a surprise.
Defence: Walker-Peters, Mavropanos, Kilman, Scarles
Wan-Bissaka was not involved against Portsmouth and his future remains increasingly uncertain.
ReadWestHam reported this morning that Fulham have joined the race for the £25m-rated defender, following Aston Villa’s interest.
That could leave Kyle Walker-Peters at right-back again.
Konstantinos Mavropanos and Maximilian Kilman started together in central defence against Portsmouth, while Ollie Scarles occupied the left-back position. West Ham won 3-1 with that back four, giving Nuno little reason to completely reshape it before Sunday.
Midfield: Bowen, Kanté, Orford, Solomon
Central midfield is where the biggest question sits.
Tomáš Souček remains unavailable as he recovers from the ankle injury suffered at the World Cup. West Ham confirmed before the Portsmouth match that he would miss the start of the campaign.
Álvarez started against Portsmouth but subsequently emerged as a fitness doubt after picking up a minor problem. The injury is not believed to be serious, although his availability for Burnley still needs to be assessed.
If Nuno does not risk him, Mohamadou Kanté and Lewis Orford could form an extremely youthful midfield pairing.
Orford did his chances no harm against Portsmouth. Nuno praised the importance of giving West Ham’s academy players opportunities following the victory.
Manor Solomon is another player pushing to start.
The winger joined after the Portsmouth victory and has declared himself fit and ready to contribute. West Ham’s official interview with Solomon highlighted his determination to make an immediate impact following his arrival.
That could see him start from the left, with Bowen operating from the opposite flank.
Attack: Castellanos, Pablo
This is the easiest decision.
Castellanos scored twice against Portsmouth, first finishing after good work from Kanté before heading home Bowen’s cross early in the second half.
Pablo started alongside him and Nuno could keep the same front two for the opening league fixture.
West Ham remain interested in adding another striker before the window closes, but Castellanos has given his manager little reason to take him out of the side.
Predicted West Ham XI v Burnley
Hermansen; Walker-Peters, Mavropanos, Kilman, Scarles; Bowen, Kanté, Orford, Solomon; Castellanos, Pablo.
The biggest uncertainty remains Álvarez. If the Mexico international is declared fully fit, he would be an obvious candidate to return alongside Orford.
For now, however, Nuno may decide there is little reason to gamble on his fitness during the first week of a 46-game Championship campaign.
