Nottingham Forest v West Ham United
Premier League, City Ground, Sunday 31 August 2025, 2pm BST
Head Coach Graham Potter has handed Mateus Fernandes his West Ham United debut in Sunday’s Premier League fixture at Nottingham Forest.
Our new No18, who joined the Club on Friday having impressed greatly for Southampton in the Premier League in 2024/25, will make his Hammers bow against the Reds from the start in midfield, and becomes the tenth Portuguese player to represent West Ham after Dani, Paulo Futre, Hugo Porfírio, Paulo Alves, Luís Boa Morte, Ricardo Vaz Tê, José Fonte, João Mario and Xande Silva.
Kyle Walker-Peters, meanwhile, is poised to make his first Premier League start in Claret and Blue at right-back.
The 28-year-old made his first start in Tuesday’s Carabao Cup fixture at Wolverhampton Wanderers and provided an assist in that game, when Tomáš Souček nodded in the leveller from his pinpoint delivery, demonstrating his attacking threat from the full-back position.
In other fantastic news, Crysencio Summerville makes a hugely welcome return to the matchday squad. The Dutchman is named on the bench and is involved after almost eight months out.
He hasn’t seen action since sustaining a hamstring injury during Potter’s first game in charge, the FA Cup third-round tie at Aston Villa in January, and suffered a further setback during his initial rehabilitation period.
Fernandes becomes the 1,114th men’s first-team player to represent the Club in its 130-year history, and is one of four changes at the City Ground.
The other switches to the line-up see Mads Hermansen, Maximilian Kilman and Niclas Füllkrug come into the side, and their replacements - Alphonse Areola, Jean-Clair Todibo and Guido Rodríguez - are all named on the bench, but Nayef Aguerd is not involved.
Soungoutou Magassa is unavailable for selection this afternoon, as his move on Friday from Ligue 1 club AS Monaco was completed too late for him to be involved.
So, Dane Hermansen starts in goal and will be protected by a back four of Walker-Peters, Dinos Mavropanos, Kilman and El Hadji Malick Diouf, who made history in Nottingham earlier this summer as part of the Senegal team that defeated England in June.
Ahead of them, James Ward-Prowse, who spent the first half of the last campaign on loan at the City Ground and provided two assists in a thrilling 3-2 Premier League victory over the Tricky Trees at London Stadium in November 2023, and Czechia captain Souček will likely patrol the midfield as a double pivot, with Fernandes taking on the attacking mantle from the centre.
Captain Jarrod Bowen - playing his 242nd West Ham game - and Lucas Paquetá, who has enjoyed a stellar start to the season, having struck for the second time in as many games in all competitions at Molineux, will flank Füllkrug in what looks like a very attacking formation.
The bench will be filled by goalkeeper Areola, wing-backs Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Ollie Scarles, centre-back Todibo, midfielders Freddie Potts, Rodríguez, Andy Irving, exciting winger Summerville and striker Callum Wilson.
Nottingham Forest: Sels, Aina, Murillo, Milenković, Williams, Sangaré, Anderson, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi, Ndoye, Wood
Subs: Gunn (GK), Morato, Boly, Luiz, Yates, McAtee, Hutchinson, Jesus, Kalimuendo
West Ham United: Hermansen, Walker-Peters, Mavropanos, Kilman, Diouf, Fernandes, Ward-Prowse, Souček, Paquetá, Bowen ©, Füllkrug
Subs: Areola (GK), Wan-Bissaka, Scarles, Todibo, Potts, Rodríguez, Irving, Summerville, Wilson
Referee: Craig Pawson
