West Ham Announce £84m Quartet Expected to Start Against Bournemouth

West Ham United are not accustomed to being in the Carabao Cup at this stage of the season.

Having participated in European competitions for the past three years, they have typically entered the cup in the third round.

However, missing out on European football this season means they will face Bournemouth at the London Stadium on Wednesday night.

New head coach Julen Lopetegui, in collaboration with technical director Tim Steidten, has overseen one of West Ham’s most notable transfer windows.

Despite the strong signings, Lopetegui’s team selection has been a point of contention.

Fans were puzzled and disappointed when only two of the eight new arrivals featured in the opening day defeat to Aston Villa.

The same lineup was used in their subsequent match against Crystal Palace, raising concerns among supporters.

Nevertheless, a resilient performance from the experienced duo of Jarrod Bowen and Tomas Soucek secured West Ham’s first win under Lopetegui.

New signings Max Kilman, Guido Rodriguez, and second-half substitute Aaron Wan-Bissaka were crucial in this victory.

As West Ham returns home for the Carabao Cup match against Bournemouth, they are expected to field many of their summer signings.

The attendance is anticipated to exceed 50,000, with the club offering affordable ticket prices.

West Ham have confirmed that four new signings, totaling £84 million, are likely to start.

This includes £30 million centre-back Jean-Clair Todibo, £15 million right-back Wan-Bissaka, £26 million winger Crysencio Summerville, and £23 million striker Niclas Füllkrug.

Additionally, Edson Alvarez and Lukasz Fabianski are also expected to feature.

According to West Ham’s official preview, Lopetegui may use this cup match to rotate his squad, having previously kept the same starting XI for both Premier League matches.

Todibo, Wan-Bissaka, Füllkrug, and Summerville could all make their first starts, while Fabianski may see action in goal.

Alvarez, who came off the bench in the win at Crystal Palace, might also get some playing time.

The cup draw has led to an interesting scheduling quirk for West Ham: they will not play outside London until November 2nd.

However, this could change if they progress to the third round and face an away fixture against a team outside the capital.

The match will proceed directly to penalties if the score is level at full-time.

The Carabao Cup third-round draw will occur after the West Ham vs. Bournemouth match, around 10:15 PM UK time.

It will be broadcast live on Sky Sports following the Newcastle vs. Nottingham Forest game.

This year’s draw process has been adjusted due to the increased number of Champions League and Europa League fixtures. To avoid scheduling conflicts, the draw will use two bowls.

Bowl One will contain the six teams from the Champions League and Europa League, while Bowl Two will include the remaining 26 clubs, such as Chelsea.

Teams from Bowl One will be pre-drawn before the main draw to determine their home or away status for the third round.

These teams—Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Aston Villa, Manchester United, and Tottenham—will not face each other in the third round.

The main draw will then proceed with teams from Bowl Two completing the first six ties, with the remaining ten ties drawn from the remaining Bowl Two teams.

This format will only apply to the third round, with subsequent rounds following the traditional free-draw procedure.