Anyone who attended the League Cup game against Chelsea, which we won, will remember the atmosphere. It was crackling and perhaps the first time we had really felt the same kind of buzz that we used to feel at night time games at Upton Park. Of course, all the match reports were dominated by a bit of trouble, which of course the media completely exaggerated. Let’s hope we don’t get any unfortunate headlines tonight.
The lineup for this match is not easy to predict. One has to assume that Andy Carroll will return. I see no point in him being on the bench. Let him start and then take him off if needs be. Michail Antonio is suspended so Carroll would be his obvious replacement, but that still means either Lanzini, Snodgrass or Feghouli would have to miss out if Ayew is start.
The other quandary is what to do about Cheikh Kouyate. I don’t think he’s comfortable at right back. I wonder whether Slaven Bilic might return to a back three and slot in that, but assuming he doesn’t and sticks to 4-3-3, this is how I see us lining up…
The bench would be…
Adrian, Collins, Ayew, Feghouli, Fernandes, Calleri, Fletcher
I think this is a match where you need a defensive midfield. Both Ayew and Feghouli will be very unlucky to miss out on a start but they might just have to take one for the team.
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