David Moyes has picked Michail Antonio to lead the line in West Ham’s starting line-up to face AEK Larnaca in the Europa Conference League tonight.
Antonio suffered a knock in the Hammers’ 3-1 FA Cup fifth-round defeat by Manchester United last week but has recovered in time to face the Cypriot side.
West Ham won all of their group games in the Conference League in the autumn, but their Premier League form has given them less to shout about. They were thrashed 4-0 by Brighton at the weekend to leave the future of manager David Moyes in doubt as the fans turned on him.
“Micky is travelling with us,” Moyes said about Antonio on Wednesday. “He had a bit of a hamstring [strain] he felt after the game at Old Trafford, but it doesn’t feel too bad.”
Thilo Kehrer starts despite illness in recent days with Maxwel Cornet on the bench but not expected to play as he continues his comeback from injury.
Likewise, Angelo Ogbonna is among the substitutes following a medial ligament issue.
Right-back Vladimir Coufal has not featured since last month with a heel injury, and Moyes said: “He’s not with us because he’s got a plantar fascia issue in his heel. Time will help it but he’s not available for the game.”
West Ham XI: Areola; Kehrer, Aguerd, Zouma, Cresswell; Downes, Lanzini, Rice; Fornals, Antonio, Benrahma.
Subs: Hegyi, Anang, Johnson, Scamacca, Paqueta, Cornet, Ings, Bowen, Ogbonna, Soucek, Emerson.