Carlos Soler Barragan and Lucas Tolentino Coelho de Lima, who is better known as Lucas Paqueta, are both suspended for West Ham United tomorrow, when they visit Southampton FC for the Boxing Day fixture.
Of course, this only comprises half of the Irons’ absentees as they have two more, due to injury, in addition to the pair (Paqueta and Soler) who will be absent for disciplinary reasons.
Boxing Day FYIs
West Ham United at Southampton FC
Kick off: 8pm, Thursday Dec 26, The St Mary’s, Southampton, UK
West Ham Preview Content: Team News Starting XI Prediction
PL Position: West Ham 14th, 20 pts Southampton 20th, 24 pts
Form Guide: West Ham LLWDD Southampton DLLLD
Google Result Probability: West Ham 44% Southampton 29% Draw 27%
Hammers Team News
Konstantinos Mavropanos (unspecified knock) faces a late fitness test while Michail Antonio is recovering from surgery to repair his broken leg. It is thought that he could be out of action for almost an entire year, and beyond that his career could ultimately be in jeopardy.
At the very least, he will not be the same player that he was before the car crash, and the process of getting back on the pitch competitively is going to be a long and arduous haul. It’s a very sad situation all around.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.