Thursday brought conflicting reports about the future of under fire West Ham United manager Julen Lopetegui. There has been some speculation and rumors that he’ll be sacked today or tomorrow, but for now that seems unfounded. While he may not be long for this job, both the BBC and Sky Sports have sources confirming that he’ll be in charge come Monday night versus Wolves.
Now this may not be the news that a lot of Hammers fans want to hear, but it is what it is.
West Ham United vs Wolverhampton Wanderers
Kick off: 3pm, Monday Dec 9, London Stadium
West Ham Preview Content: Team News Starting XI Prediction
PL Position: West Ham 14th, 15 pts Wolves 19th, 9pts
Form Guide: West Ham LDWLL Wolves DWWLL
Google Result Probability: West Ham 49% Wolves 26% Draw 25%
It’s also pretty fair to say that a loss on Monday night football could ultimately seal his fate. Maybe his even a draw could do it at this point, but who knows? We’ll have to wait and see. For now, he’s staying put and this is the first team that we’re guessing Lopetegui will select against Wolves.
West Ham United Starting XI Prediction vs Wolverhampton Wanderers
Lukasz Fabianski; Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Max Kilman, Emerson Palmieri; Tomas Soucek, Edson Alvarez; Mohamed Kudus, Crysencio Summerville, Nicklas Fullkrug; Jarrod Bowen
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.