Michail Antonio and Aaron Cresswell return to the starting line-up for West Ham United’s UEFA Europa League quarter-final first-leg clash away at Bayer Leverkusen, as boss David Moyes makes two changes from Saturday’s 2-1 triumph over Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League.
Antonio, who made his 300th appearance for the Hammers at Molineux last time out, lines up at the top of the field in place of top scorer Jarrod Bowen, who misses out through injury.
Jamaica international Antonio has scored two goals in his last four games, and four in total this season, and he will be hoping to get on the scoresheet in the BayArena to help West Ham become the first team to topple Leverkusen in 2023/24.
Meanwhile, Cresswell impressed after replacing Bowen in the 54th minute against Wolves at the weekend, and he comes in for the suspended Edson Álvarez to bolster the defensive ranks.
Having notched the third goal in the Irons’ 5-0 win over Leverkusen’s German counterparts SC Freiburg in the second leg of the Europa League round of 16 last month, the 34-year-old will be looking to make a similar impact here.
Cresswell joins Vladimír Coufal, captain Kurt Zouma, Dinos Mavropanos and Emerson in the back line, ahead of goalkeeper Łukasz Fabiański, who starts for the third game in a row in all competitions.
Tomáš Souček is set to make his 200th appearance for the Club alongside James Ward-Prowse in midfield, with Lucas Paquetá, Mohammed Kudus and Antonio completing the XI further up the pitch.
With Aphonse Areola still nursing the groin injury he picked up against Newcastle United last month, Academy starlet Jacob Knightbridge joins Joseph Anang on the substitutes’ bench.
Also among the eleven named replacements are Nayef Aguerd, Angelo Ogbonna, Ben Johnson, Kaelan Casey, George Earthy, Lewis Orford, Maxwel Cornet, Divin Mubama and Danny Ings.
Bayer Leverkusen: Kovář, Stanišić, Tah ©, Tapsoba, Grimaldo, Xhaka, Palacios, Frimpong, Wirtz, Adli, Schick
Subs: Hradecky (GK), Lomb (GK), Hincapié, Kossounou, Hofmann, Andrich, Borja Iglesias, Arthur, Tella, Boniface, Puerta
West Ham United: Fabiański, Coufal, Zouma ©, Mavropanos, Cresswell, Emerson, Ward-Prowse, Souček, Paquetá, Kudus, Antonio
Subs: Anang (GK), Knightbridge (GK), Aguerd, Ogbonna, Johnson, Casey, Earthy, Orford, Cornet, Mubama, Ings
Referee: Artur Dias (POR)
