West Ham United could make several changes for Tuesday night’s Carabao Cup second-round trip to Southampton as Nuno Espírito Santo looks for an immediate response to the 2-1 defeat against Charlton Athletic.
The Hammers have only three days to recover from a draining afternoon at the London Stadium, but Nuno’s team selection in the previous round suggests he will not simply sacrifice the competition by fielding an entirely second-string side.
Nuno has already shown Carabao Cup intent
West Ham beat Portsmouth 3-1 in the first round before beginning their Championship campaign at Burnley.
Nuno then made only one change between those two games, bringing Manor Solomon into the side for Edson Álvarez. West Ham’s official Burnley team news confirmed the selection.
That makes a complete overhaul against Southampton unlikely.
However, Saturday’s defeat to Charlton provides several obvious opportunities for changes.
Dinos Mavropanos left the pitch after 70 minutes, although West Ham have yet to confirm the extent of any problem, so Joël Veltman looks like the obvious candidate to come into central defence.
Alphonse Areola could also replace Mads Hermansen in goal and receive his first competitive start of the campaign.
West Ham midfield could change at Southampton
Central midfield is where Nuno has the greatest reason to freshen things up.
Mohamadou Kanté lasted only 45 minutes against Charlton, with Lewis Orford replacing him at half-time.
Orford started both the Carabao Cup victory over Portsmouth and the Championship opener at Burnley, so a return to the XI at St Mary’s would make sense.
James Ward-Prowse is another strong candidate.
The experienced midfielder remained on the bench against Charlton and should arrive on Tuesday fresher than Arne Engels, who completed his West Ham debut only days after joining the club.
Divine Mukasa also made his first appearance from the bench on Saturday and could now receive his first West Ham start.
That would allow Nuno to rest Manor Solomon while giving the former Manchester City youngster a significant opportunity.
Piroe deserves another West Ham start
Joël Piroe should keep his place.
The striker scored against Charlton on his West Ham debut and became the 100th player in club history to find the net on his first appearance.
With Pablo unavailable against Charlton through injury, Nuno does not currently have an obvious reason to remove Piroe from the attack.
Taty Castellanos could also retain his place despite missing Saturday’s stoppage-time penalty.
Jarrod Bowen is the biggest selection dilemma.
Resting the captain before the Championship resumes would be understandable, but Nuno started Bowen against Portsmouth in the first round and the winger responded with a goal and an assist.
That precedent makes another start at Southampton more likely than it might initially appear.
ReadWestHam predicted XI v Southampton
Areola
Walker-Peters – Veltman – Kilman – Scarles
Orford – Ward-Prowse
Bowen – Mukasa
Castellanos – Piroe
That would represent five changes from the side beaten by Charlton while retaining enough senior quality to give West Ham a realistic chance of reaching round three.
West Ham travel to St Mary’s on Tuesday night, with the club confirming the Carabao Cup tie will kick off at 7.45pm.
Southampton will hardly make the assignment straightforward. The Saints beat Stoke City 3-1 at St Mary’s, with Cyle Larin scoring before Divin Mubama and Ryan Manning struck late.
West Ham therefore need fresh legs on Tuesday, but the evidence from round one suggests Nuno will still want a side capable of winning the tie.
