James Ward-Prowse will make his West Ham debut from the start against Chelsea today, while Edson Alvarez is on the bench,
Ward-Prowse completed his £30million move from relegated Southampton on Monday, following Alvarez’s £32m arrival from Ajax as David Moyes looks to reinforce his midfield following the departure of Declan Rice to Arsenal.
Alvarez was on international duty for much of the summer, playing for Mexico in the Gold Cup, and as such is still building his fitness, with Moyes suggesting he will likely start on the bench this weekend.
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Ward-Prowse, however, is ready to start having had a full pre-season and even featuring in Southampton’s opening game of the Championship campaign earlier this month.
“Alvarez is only just back,” Moyes confirmed. “We got him in the middle of last week when he started training. He had no training for three weeks.
“It wasn’t as if he was back at Ajax, whereas Ward-Prowse has been back training all the way through with Southampton and played games already. He is much more ready.”
Starting West Ham XI: Areola; Coufal, Zouma, Aguerd, Emerson; Ward-Prowse, Soucek, Paqueta; Bowen, Antonio, Benrahma
Injuries: None
Doubts: None
Time and date: 4:30pm BST on Sunday August 20, 2023
Venue: London Stadium
