Yahoo News Julen Lopetegui drops major West Ham team hint for Aston Villa Premier League opener
West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui has dropped a hint about his team selection for the Hammers’ opening Premier League fixture against Aston Villa next Saturday.
The Spaniard oversaw West Ham’s 2-2 draw against La Liga outfit Celta Vigo in the Betway Cup at the London Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Key men Jarrod Bowen and Lucas Paqueta completed their first minutes of pre-season linking up for Bowen’s opener before the Brazilian registered his own strike after a wonderful team move.
On the Irons’ star performers, Lopetegui said: “They both played their first minutes with us today and of course, they aren’t ready for 90 minutes at the moment. That’s why today’s game was really important, and so that we can make sure all of the players are in a good place to compete against Aston Villa.
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"We know that some players are heading into the new season with a small number of minutes, but this is something we have to be ready to adapt to and make sure we’re ready for the first match.”
This may offer a clue into the future selection for next week’s Premier League curtain raiser. With Bowen and Paqueta unlikely to be 100% fit, this will be music to the ears of Unai Emery who led Villa to two 1-1 draws in his last two visits to east London. The Hammers may also field one of multiple new recruits; Max Kilman, Crysencio Summerville, and Germany’s striker Niclas Fullkrug could all make their competitive debuts.
Lopetegui continued, this time mentioning next week’s fixture: “We’ve been working hard during pre-season to prepare us for the first game. We are aware that we’re going to play against a strong team, but we are sure that we are going to be ready to work hard and give everything against Aston Villa.”
Villa completed their own pre-season on the same day playing out a 2-0 defeat away at Borussia Dortmund with over 3,000 Villans making the trip to Signal Iduna Park in Germany.
