Julen Lopetegui has made two changes to his West Ham United starting XI for Saturday’s match at home to Brighton & Hove Albion, with **Niclas Füllkrug** handed a first Premier League start for the Club.
The 31-year-old striker is in Lopetegui's top-flight team for the first time since joining the Club in August in place of the suspended Carlos Soler, who misses the clash at London Stadium after being booked for the fifth time this season in Monday’s 1-1 draw at AFC Bournemouth.
The other switch sees **Emerson** return to our defence at left-back, with Vladimír Coufal dropping to the bench and Aaron Wan-Bissaka moving to right-back. Emerson appears for the 98th time in West Ham colours.
The Spanish boss looks like he will retain the 4-2-3-1 formation he has favoured for the most part since taking charge in the summer.
Łukasz Fabiański, who became our fifth oldest player to make a first-team appearance against Wolverhampton Wanderers in our previous home game, starts in goal for the ninth Premier League match in a row, seeking his third clean sheet of the season, with a back four in front of him of Wan-Bissaka, Dinos Mavropanos, Maximilian Kilman and Emerson.
Edson Álvarez is expected to be the holding anchor with Tomáš Souček and Lucas Paquetá slightly further up the pitch. The Brazilian, of course, scored West Ham's goal in Monday's 1-1 draw at AFC Bournemouth from the penalty spot.
An attacking line-up in front of the home support sees Jarrod Bowen, one of two ever-present starters this season, and Mohammed Kudus on either side of Füllkrug.
Captain Bowen makes his 300th career league appearance, having made 182 in the Premier League and 117 in the EFL Championship, while his next league goal will be the 100th of his career.
Füllkrug marked his return from a three-month injury with a goal in the 3-1 Premier League defeat at Leicester City at the start of this month and will be aiming to add to that tally against the Seagulls.
On the bench, meanwhile, defender Jean-Clair Todibo is fit enough to be included in the squad after overcoming a knock suffered against Arsenal.
Alongside Todibo on the bench will be goalkeeper Alphonse Areola, defenders Coufal and Ollie Scarles, who made his Premier League debut at Bournemouth on Monday, midfielders Guido Rodríguez, Andy Irving and Luis Guilherme, winger Crysencio Summerville and forward Danny Ings.
**West Ham United:** Fabiański, Wan-Bissaka, Mavropanos, Kilman, Emerson, Álvarez, Souček, Kudus, Paquetá, Bowen ©, Füllkrug
Subs: Areola (GK), Scarles, Coufal, Todibo, Irving, Rodríguez, Luis Guilherme, Summerville, Ings
**Brighton & Hove Albion:** Verbruggen, Veltman, van Hecke, Dunk ©, Estupiñán, Baleba, Gruda, Wieffer, Mitoma, Rutter, João Pedro
Subs: Steele (GK), Lamptey, Julio, Ayari, Minteh, O’Riley, Enciso, Adringa, Ferguson
**Referee:** Rob Jones
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