Team News: Declan Rice captain, Ben Johnson returns for West Ham United at Everton

 

David Moyes makes one change to his starting XI from the 2-1 defeat by Brentford for Sunday's Premier League fixture at Everton.

Ben Johnson comes in for the injured Vladimír Coufal at right-back, but otherwise West Ham United name the same team which kicked-off against the Bees at London Stadium a fortnight ago.

Fresh from his final international appearance for Poland against San Marino during the October break, Łukasz Fabiański starts in goal and makes his 110th appearance for the Club.

Johnson starts at right-back, making his first Premier League start of the season and first top-flight appearance since appearing as a late substitute at Newcastle United on the opening weekend.

However, the 21-year-old has tasted victory and kept clean sheets on each of his other two starts this season, at Manchester United in the Carabao Cup third round and at home to Rapid Vienna in the UEFA Europa League group stage. West Ham have not conceded a goal in Johnson's 181 minutes on the pitch this term.

Alongside the Academy graduate, Kurt Zouma and Angelo Ogbonna provide the centre-back pairing, with the Italian making his 199th appearance for the Hammers. Aaron Cresswell is the only starter with more West Ham games under his belt and he starts at left-back. Today is the No3's 261st game in Claret and Blue.

Declan Rice captains West Ham from his usual deep-lying midfield position and maintains his record of starting every Premier League game this season. His partner, Tomáš Souček, scored the winner in the Hammers' 1-0 victory here at Goodison last season, steering Cresswell's wayward shot into the net on New Year's Day.

The attacking midfield positions will be filled by the potent trio of Jarrod Bowen, Saïd Benrahma and Pablo Fornals. Benrahma has been in fine form, scoring three goals and assting two more in his seven Premier League appearances, while Fornals arrives full of confidence after featuring for Spain in the UEFA Nations League final against France.

Michail Antonio is our centre-forward. The August Premier League Player of the Month is the talisman and focal point of West Ham's attack, with his all-round attributes causing problems for any opposing defender. The No9 has five goals and three assists in six Premier League games this term.

The substitutes' bench is filled by goalkeeper Alphonse Areola, full-backs Harrison Ashby and Arthur Masuaku, centre-backs Craig Dawson, Issa Diop and Jamal Baptiste, midfielder Manuel Lanzini and forwards Nikola Vlašić and Andriy Yarmolenko.

Coufal, Club captain Mark Noble, midfielder Alex Král and right-back Ryan Fredericks are all absent through injury.

 

West Ham United: Fabiański, Johnson, Zouma, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Rice (c), Souček, Bowen, Fornals, Benrahma, Antonio
Subs: Areola (GK), Ashby, Masuaku, Dawson, Diop, Baptiste, Lanzini, Vlašić, Yarmolenko