David Moyes may have mistakenly left defender Nayef Aguerd out of West Ham’s starting lineup for the Europa League match against Bayer Leverkusen, after he returned from injury.
West Ham’s defender Aguerd will be on the bench for the match against undefeated Schwarzgelben. He ranks third overall in the squad and is the highest-ranked player on SofaScore. West Ham’s full starting XI includes Lukasz Fabianski, Vladimir Coufal, Aaron Cresswell, and Emerson Palmer in the back four.
James Ward-Prowse and Tomas Soucek will start in the Irons’ double pivot due to suspensions of Edson Alvarez and Kalvin Phillips.
Emerson’s move to the left of West Ham’s attacking three compensates for Jarrod Bowen’s injury, with Mohammed Kudus on the other flank.
West Ham’s Lucas Paqueta will provide attacking support for Michail Antonio, but they will miss Bowen and Aguerd in defence. The absence of Alvarez could expose Ward-Prowse and Soucek, making Aguerd’s absence baffling. Frank McAvennie has criticized Zouma and Mavropanos, but Moyes’ decision to leave Aguerd out may not haunt him. West Ham is also pursuing Brentford forward Ivan Toney.
