West Ham United are close to having their perfect starting XI under Manuel Pellegrini. Well, according to these fans who have been sharing their ideal teams on social media.
So far this season, Pellegrini has utilised the services of 24 players in the Premier League, ranging from first-team regulars Felipe Anderson and Lukasz Fabianski, who are yet to miss a teamsheet, to academy ace Xande Silva, who made his senior debut away to Burnley in December.
One player who is yet to kick a ball under the Chilean, however, is Manuel Lanzini, who suffered a devastating anterior knee ligament rupture while training with Argentina ahead of last summer’s World Cup in Russia.
The blow has sidelined the 25-year-old out for close to a year, but is finally nearing a return in East London, and could be included in the matchday squad that hosts Fulham on February 22.
Add to his long-awaited return Fabian Balbuena’s recovery from an ongoing knee issue, West Ham will have what a lot of fans are considering to be Pellegrini’s best XI for the first time…
fab, zaba, diop, Balbuena, cress, rice, wilshere. yarmo, lanzini, felipe, arnie
— Jazza (@JazzaJazammer) February 7, 2019
Yarmo – Unproven
Wilshere – Unproven
Arnie – Finished pic.twitter.com/hPangxxFHW— ⚒ Daley Hammer ⚒ (@daleywhufc) February 8, 2019
Fabianksi
Fredericks Balbuena Diop Cress
Rice
Nasri Wilshere
Lanzini Arnie Anderson— Antonio Fanelli (@ALFanelli1994) February 7, 2019
Fabianski
Zabaleta – Diop – Balbuena – Cresswell
Rice – Noble
Lanzini – Nasri – Anderson
Arnautovic
Adrian, Ogbonna, Obiang, Yarmolenko, Hernandez, Antonio, Snodgrass
— Totally West Ham (@Totally_WestHam) February 7, 2019
Fabianski
Zaba balbuena diop cress
Rice noble
Nasri lanzini Anderson
Arnie— Aaron Hollands (@aaron_hollands9) February 8, 2019
Fabianski
Zaba, Diop, Balbuena, Cress
Noble, Rice, Nasri
Lanzini, Arnie, Felipe
— Wolf Nine (@Wolf_Nine9) February 8, 2019
On paper it’s obviously the 4-2-3-1 everyone is sending in but genuinely think this is it atm
4-3-3
Fabianski
Fredericks Diop Balbuena Cresswell
Rice
Noble Nasri
Antonio Arnie Felipe— Stannerz (@Stannerz13) February 7, 2019
4-3-3: Fabianski, Zabaleta, Diop, Balbuena, Cresswell; Rice, Noble, Lanzini; Yarmolenko, Arnautovic, Anderson
— Matt (@MattCrowe__) February 7, 2019