On Wednesday night, West Ham United will play Lincoln City in the third round of the EFL Cup, continuing their busy early-season schedule.
Lincoln holds one of the mid-table spots in League One at the same time the visitors hold the seventh-place spot in the Premier League standings.
Match preview
When asked about West Ham’s start to the season, David Moyes can say that he is relatively satisfied” with the team’s 10 points from six Premier League games.
The Hammers’ only two losses have come to Manchester City and Liverpool, both by scores of 3-1, and they started last Thursday’s Europa League match with a victory.
However, this team has now gone seven games in all competitions without keeping a clean sheet, relying instead on their offensive strengths.
That can only get West Ham so far, and Moyes will be aware of that as he works to keep an EFL Cup upset from happening on Wednesday night.
While this is by far and large West Ham’s smallest priority this season, Moyes will demand that his second-string give him food for thought during a schedule when he will require as many players as possible to be at the top of their game.
From Lincoln’s perspective, it seems like only yesterday that they enjoyed a six-game winning streak and had defeated Premier League opponents.
Mark Kennedy observed his team keep a clean sheet during a scoreless draw at Sheffield United before winning on penalties to extend their winning streak to four games in a row.
Lincoln have since lost their previous four games in all competitions, with their most recent two encounters going against Derby County and Portsmouth.
Given that the loss to Derby occurred in the EFL Trophy and that the Imps only lost their most recent match by a score of 2-1 to league leaders Pompey, some context is necessary.
Promotion from League One remains Lincoln’s focus for the season, yet Kennedy will view this as an opportunity to rekindle the excitement from cup runs in years gone by after a largely uneventful 2022-23.
Team News
With this game coming just three days after the Liverpool defeat, Moyes will almost probably make sweeping changes to his starting lineup.
While Tomas Soucek may keep his place in central midfield, the rest of the starting XI might be filled by new faces, with Konstantinos Mavropanos and Mohammed Kudus getting more minutes after their summer signings.
With Aaron Cresswell out with a hamstring injury, Ben Johnson could start at left-back, and Moyes must decide whether to play Danny Ings or Divin Mubama in attack.
Fewer alterations are expected to be made by Kennedy, yet he may still tinker with his side with four Lincoln players having started every League One fixture this campaign.
Alistair Smith could come into midfield ahead of either Ethan Erhahon or Ethan Hamilton, while Alex Mitchell may get the nod in the back three with Sean Roughan dropping out.
Lincoln City possible starting lineup:
Jensen; Jackson, O’Connor, Mitchell; Sorensen, Smith, Erhahon, Burroghs; Hackett-Fairchild, Adelakun, Bishop
West Ham United possible starting lineup:
Fabianski; Kehrer, Mavropanos, Ogbonna, Johnson; Soucek, Fornals; Benrahma, Kudus, Cornet; Ings
We say: Lincoln City 1-4 West Ham United
With West Ham expected to make widespread changes, Lincoln will fancy their chances of upsetting the odds in this contest. Nevertheless, the Hammers have a deep squad with minimal injuries, leading us to predict a comfortable victory for the Premier League side.
