West Ham United v Charlton Athletic
EFL Cup 2nd RoundTuesday 15 September | Kick-Off: 19.30pm (Live On New EFL Streaming Pass - Valley Pass is Audio Only)Referee: Andre Marriner (West Midlands) - Previously officiated Charlton 3-1 Luton Town back in FebruaryIntroductionAfter only a short break between the heartache of last season finishing and the beginning of this one, it's crazy to think we are heading into our fourth 'competitive' away game already. A good result in the last round away at Swindon Town has provided us with the chance of a great cup tie, something we never seem to have. It just so happens to be at a time when none of us can attend, typical Charlton style! The win in the first round was followed up with a solid win away at newly promoted Crewe on Saturday, and with off-field issues still to be resolved, there are a lot of factors to consider in this knock-out tie, away at West Ham United.
OppositionManager: David Moyes |
Stadium: The Taxpayer's London Stadium
League Position: Joint Bottom |
Nickname(s): The Hammers
Fun Facts:- West Ham did
not win the World Cup in 1966.
- However, one thing they did win was The FA Cup. They are the last team to have won the competition who were outside the top flight, beating Arsenal in 1980.
West Ham kicked off their season with a 2-0 loss at home to Newcastle. Their team on Saturday night was:
Fabianski
Fredericks | Diop | Ogbonna | Cresswell
Soucek | Rice
Bowen | Noble | Fornals
Antonio
The Hammers have their own problems in the boardroom with much fan and player unrest. The latest spark coming from the sale of exciting youngster, Grady Diangana. The 22 year old moved to West Brom where he was on loan at last season, but after an impressive pre-season where it looked as though he would be given the chance to make his mark in East London, the former Woolwich Poly student would be made to leave to bring in funds that the West Ham board apparently so desperately need. This was followed by an outburst from club captain, Mark Noble, showing his disappointment and anger in the move, letting one of their most promising players leave to a Premier League rival.
From the outside, it seems West Ham lack any kind of identity and personality. Since leaving Upton Park, something of their own fans have described as a painful exile from their spiritual home, they have sacked Bilic, employed and sacked Moyes, employed and sacked Pellegrini, and re-employed Moyes! The regular changes at the helm, including going to and from managers does nothing to help their identity and sense of direction. If West Ham are going to improve and even get close to the promises they have made to their fans, they're going to need a sense of stability themselves.
Going into the player personnel, you would expect Moyes to make a number of changes to his starting XI. With a run of incredibly tough fixtures on paper coming up, including Arsenal, Tottenham, Man City, and Liverpool, it's unlikely they're going to prioritise a cup run. However, they could look at this as a chance to boost confidence and give players on the fringe of the starting XI time to impress. One player we are likely to see is someone we know very well. Josh Cullen was not included in their squad against Newcastle so will be pushing hard to be involved against us, putting in a performance we know he is capable of. Another ex-Charlton player who could feature is goalkeeper Darren Randolph, the only two people who would've known the Irish international whilst he was here would be sitting on the touchline, Jackson and Basey. Other players we should expect to see in West Ham's line-up are talent which cost over £100mil in transfer fees: Haller, Lanzini, Anderson, and Yarmolenko.
Charlton Team NewsLee Bowyer going back to his old club, and the club he's supported since he was a boy. This time, his heart is with us and fully focused in ensuring we are competitive and give a good account of ourselves. Changes have been confirmed ahead of this cup tie, including young Dylan Levitt set to make his Charlton debut in midfield. Other players we could see come in are Williams, Oztumer, Morgan, and Aneke. However, with a small squad and the need to improve so long as the embargo gets lifted, the amount of rotation Bowyer can do is limited. As excellent as young Charlie Barker has been, I would be surprised to see him start against Premier League players this early in his career. It is one thing impressing against Wimbledon, Swindon, and Crewe, but another task altogether against what could be experienced international players.
Amos
Lapslie | Oshilaja | Pratley | Purrington
Gilbey | Levitt | Williams
Doughty | Aneke | Washington
Subs: Maynard-Brewer, Barker, Forster-Caskey, Morgan, Oztumer, Bonne, Davison
Prediction
As our squad is wafer-thin, Bowyer is going to find it difficult to really rotate but put out a side that would not let us down or embarrass us. As we know, Bowyer always tries to make us competitive and in a one off game, why can we not try and take the game to them? On a big pitch, it will help us play football - Doughty's pace in behind could cause them a lot of problems. Unfortunately, I think until we have a defence which is strong enough, we will struggle against a Premier League side.
West Ham United 2-1 Charlton Athletic
Aneke
Comments
West Ham 3-1
As for this game.......I couldn't give a shit.
Great preview by the way 😁
First game of Sandgaard era.
Lee said in his interview that Barker will play Tuesday night.
LB says things need to move soon as problems on the horizon.
Amos
Barker, Oshilaja, Pratley
Lapslie, Levitt, Gilbey, Doughty
Williams, Morgan
Bonne
1-1 Bonne, we lose on penalties but leave with heads held high.
I'm thinking Vennings, Dempsey and the like will play.
Alternatively, new players may feature if we get the take over in time (don't expect it).
Amos
Lapslie | Barker | Oshilaja | Doughty
Morgan | Levitt | Gilbey
Oztumer
Davison | Aneke
https://www.goal.com/en/news/carabao-cup-2020-21-fixtures-teams-draw-dates-all-you-need/1j7llshytle5u1lf4kkd2o6t66#:~:text=Carabao Cup 2020-21 rules&text=Seeding has also been removed,played at Premier League grounds.
Hopefully this will be a very memorable week.
I suspect only Amos, Oshilaja and Purrington will play from Saturdays starting line up.
I reckon LB will go
Amos
Lapslie, Barker, Oshilaja, Purrington
Levitt, Vennings, Oztumer (or Williams), Dempsey, Morgan
Davison.