Graham Potter has made three changes to his West Ham United starting XI for Sunday’s Premier League fixture at Manchester United.
Vladimír Coufal, Guido Rodríguez and James Ward-Prowse are the trio called up for the trip to Old Trafford, with Emerson, Lucas Paquetá and Niclas Füllkrug the three players who miss out.
It will be an emotional start for Coufal, who will leave the Club at the end of his contract in June after five seasons. The Czechia international right-back makes his 178th appearance in Claret and Blue and will hope to mark the occasion with his first goal.
FIFA World Cup and two-time Copa América winner Rodríguez returns to the team for the first time since the home defeat by Crystal Palace on 18 January, since when he has played just twice as a late substitute in draws with Aston Villa and Everton.
Ward-Prowse has been more heavily involved in recent months, having appeared in every game since returning from his loan spell at Nottingham Forest at the start of February. The 30-year-old makes his eleventh Premier League appearance for the Club this season, and his 65th for the Hammers in all competitions.
Otherwise, the same eight players who started last weekend’s 1-1 home draw with Tottenham Hotspur keep their places.
Alphonse Areola continues in goal, making his 14th consecutive start and 99th appearance for the Club in total. The France international has kept three clean sheets in eight previous appearances against Manchester United, helping the Irons to a 1-0 EFL Cup win at Old Trafford in 2021/22 and 2-0 home victory in the Premier League last season.
Ahead of him, a back five of Coufal, Jean-Clair Todibo, Maximilian Kilman, Aaron Cresswell and Aaron Wan-Bissaka will hope to keep the Red Devils at bay.
Cresswell will also leave the Club when his contract comes to an end on 30 June. The long-serving left-sided defender will make his 310th Premier League appearance for the Club and is seeking his 114th win – second only to Mark Noble in both categories. He has 30 assists, too, which ranks fifth all-time.
The midfield three will be Rodríguez, Ward-Prowse and Tomáš Souček. Ward-Prowse has faced Manchester United 21 times in his career for Southampton and West Ham, scoring two goals and registering three assists.
Bowen and Kudus are partnered up front.
Captain Bowen has faced Manchester United more times, 14, than any other opponent in his career. The 28-year-old scored in our home Premier League wins over the Red Devils this season and last. Kudus also scored in our home victory over Manchester United in December 2023.
Emerson, Paquetá - who Potter confirmed has had a ‘difficult week off the pitch and under the weather with a cold’ - and Füllkrug are joined on the substitutes’ bench by Łukasz Fabiański, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Edson Álvarez, Carlos Soler, Luis Guilherme and Evan Ferguson.
Manchester United: Bayindir, Mazraoui, Yoro, Shaw, Amass, Ugarte, Mainoo, Amad, Fernandes ©, Mount, Højlund
Subs: Heaton (GK), Dorgu, Lindelöf, Maguire, Eriksen, Casemiro, Garnacho, Fredricson, Obi
West Ham United: Areola, Coufal, Todibo, Kilman, Cresswell, Wan-Bissaka, Rodríguez, Ward-Prowse, Souček, Kudus, Bowen ©
Subs: Fabiański (GK), Emerson, Mavropanos, Álvarez, Paquetá, Soler, Luis Guilherme, Ferguson, Füllkrug
Referee: Jarred Gillett
