West Ham set to be without injured £35m midfield against Aston Villa. The Hammers’ midfielder has struggled to have a pre-season ahead of the Premier League campaign. West Ham begin Premier League life under Julen Lopetegui with the visit of Aston Villa to the London Stadium on Saturday evening in a tasty looking curtain raiser. The Hammers are a new look side this term after a busy summer transfer window and all eyes are on the Villains to see whether Unai Emery can emulate the surprise success of Champions League qualification last season.
The two sides last met in London in March, playing out a 1-1 draw with Michail Antonio and Nicolo Zaniolo on the scoresheet. Aston Villa won the reverse fixture in the Midlands last October 4-1 with a Jarrod Bowen goal cancelled out by a Douglas Luiz brace with Ollie Watkins and Leon Bailey also on the scoresheet.
Lopetegui will be tasked with selecting his first competitive West Ham XI but is set to be without midfielder Edson Alvarez this weekend. The Mexico international made 42 appearances in all competitions last season and was praised by David Moyes for how he had settled into life at the club.
Alvarez joined West Ham from Ajax last summer for a £35 million fee and is known for his industrious and ball-winning performances at the heart of the midfield. Former Manchester City loanee Kalvin Phillips was another option in that position but has not returned to the club after his underwhelming stint.
Alvarez picked up a hamstring issue while on international duty with Mexico this summer, playing in the prestigious Copa America. That impacted his pre-season and he didn’t pick up minutes in friendlies.
Explaining the problem, Lopetegui said: “The injury to Edson Alvarez is bad news for us. It’s good the other guys are playing well for their countries, but hopefully they come back to us in good shape.”
West Ham have signed Guido Rodriguez in central midfield this summer, the Argentinian arriving on a free transfer. Lopetegui could also turn to James Ward-Prowse and Tomas Soucek.
Providing a larger update on general squad health on Thursday, Lopetegui said: “Fortunately we don’t have bad news about the injuries. We have to be aware about the kind of preparations some players have had – some are ready more than others, because of international involvement and other things – and we’ll have more information on Friday. Tomorrow we will make the last decision about the line-up.”
