Moyes set to axe Ogbonna and Emerson in two changes – West Ham predicted XI v Luton Town. David Moyes is in line to give the left side of his West Ham United team a complete shake-up, ahead of his final home match at the London Stadium against Luton Town on Saturday (11 May).
West Ham were hammered 5-0 by Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last time out, with Angelo Ogbonna and Emerson Palmieri run ragged by Cole Palmer and Co. in an embarrassing performance by Moyes’ side.
However, the Irons do have defensive reinforcements coming back into play ahead of their clash with Luton, allowing Moyes to make some much-needed changes and take both Emerson and Ogbonna out of the starting line-up.
The Hammers really do need to return to winning ways as well, and as it’s his final game on the London Stadium touchline, Moyes will want to sign-off on his last home assignment in style
Will West Ham make wholesale changes against Luton?
Alphonse Areola couldn’t do much about any of Chelsea’s five goals at Stamford Bridge, and unless Moyes fancies Lukasz Fabianski instead, he’ll keep his place between the sticks.
Vladimir Coufal and Kurt Zouma didn’t cover themselves in glory against the Blues either, but with little depth in those positions, the pair should keep their places by default.
It’s on the left side of defence where Moyes must swing the axe, and get Ogbonna and Emerson as far from the starting XI as possible.
Aaron Cresswell is playing for his future and provides a safer pair of hands at left-back, while Konstantinos Mavropanos was reported to be “making some progress” by PremierInjuries.com and could be fit enough to displace Ogbonna, moving Zouma over to left centre-back.
Edson Alvarez was hooked at half-time against Chelsea, but is expected to retain his place in the XI along Tomas Soucek against Luton with Lucas Paqueta playing further forward – although it wouldn’t be that surprising to see James Ward-Prowse start ahead of any of those three.
Jarrod Bowen and Mohammed Kudus were isolated out on the right and left flanks respectively at Stamford Bridge, and if Moyes swaps the pair around, they could do some real damage against a Luton defence that has shipped 78 goals this season.
It could also prove to be the final London Stadium appearance for veteran striker Michail Antonio, who is out of contract at the end of the season (albeit there is an option to extend by a further 12 months), and Moyes will no doubt keep faith with the Jamaica international after he scored against Liverpool in their last home game.
In other West Ham news, Jamie Carragher has predicted the result of Moyes’ final home game at the London Stadium.
