West Ham United manager David Moyes probably knows what his starting XI for the Conference League Final will be.
We begin in goal, where Alphonse Areola should retain his place as the Hammers cup goalkeeper. Elsewhere star man Declan Rice will captain the Irons, leading out of the middle of the park in what will almost certainly could be his final game in an Irons shirt. A move to a big six club seems to be in the cards.
West Ham United vs ACF Fiorentina FYIs
UECL Final, Eden Arena, Prague
Kickoff: 3pm ET June 7, 2023
Team News for Both Sides: go here
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
Watch/Stream: TUDN
Fellow midfield maestro Tomas Soucek, playing in his native country, will partner him. Slightly up field, Lucas Paqueta is etched in as a starting attacking midfielder. He’ll get the call over Manuel Lazini. Pablo Fornals will be in consideration as well.
Shifting now to the back line, former Chelsea central defender Kurt Zouma, fresh off his damage control tour over the cat kicking incident from 2022, will start in the spine of the defense. The rest of the back four looks like this: Nayef Aguerd partnering Zouma in the middle, Aaron Cresswell as the first choice left back, and Vladimir Coufal getting the nod over Thilo Kehrer out on the right side.
Maxwell Cornet could be odd man out.
And then finally, your first team trio in the final third will be Michail Antonio (over Danny Ings), Jarrod Bowen and Said Benrahma.
Predicted Starting XIs
West Ham (4-2-1-3)
Fabianski, Coufal, Zouma, Aguerd, Cresswell; Soucek, Rice; Paqueta; Bowen, Antonio, Benrahma
Fiorentina
Terracciano, Dodo, Milenkovic, Martinez, Biraghi, Amrabat, Mandragora, Kouame, Barak, Saponara
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager 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’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now. Follow the website on Twitter and Instagram.