Nuno Espirito Santo admits he felt he had no reason to change the West Ham United team for the visit of Bournemouth with Soungoutou Magassa the only new face in the starting XI.
Magassa makes his first Premier League start since that Molineux collapse on January 3rd; an enforced change brought about due to Freddie Potts’ three-game ban for a red card in the FA Cup.
This means that, after many of our Hammers News readers claimed that Axel Disasi and Konstantinos Mavropanos should start again, that new-look defensive partnership remains unchanged. Jean-Clair Todibo is back from a suspension of his own, but only among the substitutes.
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Callum Wilson of West Ham United warms up before the Premier League match between West Ham United and Manchester United at London Stadium on February 10, 2026 in London, England.
Callum Wilson also begins on the bench. Either Mateus Fernandes or Tomas Soucek will play behind Taty Castellanos in the absence of Pablo Felipe, as was the case in their last league match; that 1-1 draw with Manchester United.
Nuno Espirito Santo hopes to maintain West Ham United’s winning formula
Speaking to Sky Sports pre-match, Nuno Espirito Santo admits he did not see the need to tear up a blueprint which has given West Ham a very real chance of ending the weekend outside of the relegation zone.
West Ham United v Aston Villa - Premier League
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“I think we have been improving game by game, day by day,” Nuno said when asked about the lack of changes to his XI for the visit of Andoni Iraola’s side. “Our defensive shape and organisation have improved, and our talented players are helping us as well.
“I think we have more options now which allow us to choose, but the team as a whole performed well.”
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A graphic showing Carlton Cole's comments on West Ham United defender Axel Disasi. It reads 'he's a proper solider'.
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“We have to start the game well so that the fans get behind us and back us up. It’s about us and our journey; doing our jobs and trying to ignore what’s happening in the other stadiums,” he added in relation to Nottingham Forest’s clash with Liverpool and the North London Derby late on Sunday afternoon.
“It will be a tough match against a very good team with very good players. Iraola is a great manager, so we expect a very tough opponent.”
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