So much has changed for West Ham United since their rock-bottom moment on January 3rd; A 3-0 thrashing by Wolves which made Premier League relegation feel like an inevitability at the time.
Most of it for the better.
One constant, though, is the presence of Nuno Espirito Santo on the touchline. By his own admission, the Hammers’ Molineux misery was the low point of a very mixed reign.
Nuno’s squad is certainly STRONGER three months on! ⚒️ 🆚 🐺
Who has been the biggest upgrade? Disasi for Kilman surely…
West Ham v Wolves XI on January 3rd, 2006
But rather than cave into pressure and make their second managerial sacking in the space of three months, the West Ham United chiefs opted to make changes in the dressing room rather than in the dugout.
The byproduct of a busy January is that, of the eleven players who started when rock-bottom Wolves ran riot, arguably only three will be involved from the off on Friday.
West Ham United fielded an unfamiliar XI in January’s Wolves thrashing
Aaron Wan-Bissaka is available again following DR Congo’s seemingly never-ending World Cup celebrations. Speaking at his pre-match press conference, Nuno confirmed that Axel Disasi, Konstantinos Mavropanos and Jean-Clair Todibo should be back after injury scares, while Crysencio Summerville has returned to training.
Axel Disasi celebrates after West Ham United beat Fulham in the Premier League.
Photo by Tiego Grenho/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Disasi has been a massive upgrade on Max Kilman, who endured a torrid afternoon at Molineux in early-January. Wan-Bissaka and El Hadji Malick Diouf were unavailable due to their AFCON commitments that day, meaning Kyle Walker-Peters and Ollie Scarles played at full-back ahead of Alphonse Areola.
Areola has since been replaced between the sticks by Mads Hermansen; the goalkeeper responsible for all of West Ham’s four Premier League clean sheets in 2025/26.
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Freddie Potts, Soungoutou Magassa and Callum Wilson have slipped down the pecking order, too.
If Nuno opts against risking Summerville from the start – the calf injury he picked up against Brentford on March 9th proved my serious than first hoped – Adama Traore may keep his place when Wolves come to town.
The Hammers have a score to settle… ⚒️ v 🐺
What do YOU want to see in Friday's six-pointer?
Wolverhampton Wanderers' Jose Sa punches clear under pressure from West Ham United's Max Kilman during the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Ham United at Molineux on January 3, 2026 in Wolverhampton, England.
Nuno Espirito Santo will have to be careful with Crysencio Summerville
The much-maligned Adama rolled back the years with a Man of the Match display befitting of his days in Old Gold last time out. Like fellow January recruits Pablo, Disasi and Taty Castellanos – who should start up top ahead of Wilson – Adama wasn’t even a West Ham player when they made that fateful trip to the Black Country.
If Summerville begins life on the bench, then there is likely to be no fewer than eight players starting who were not in Nuno’s XI just 97 days later.
“[Summerville] is improving, he’s improving,” Nuno told reporters on Wednesday. “‘JC’ [Todibo], Callum Wilson, we still have tomorrow to assess, but there is improvement. We are positive. We are positive that they can be available. Dino is also clear from the concussion protocol.
“So, we are positive they are going to be available.”
West Ham have picked up 12 more points than Tottenham since mid-January. Beat Wolves in this weekend’s curtain raiser, and they will draw level with Nottingham Forest while moving to within a point of Leeds in 16th.
Of the 29 points accumulated in 2025/26, 15 of those have come since the Hammers were washed away in Wolverhampton. Sometimes, rather than giving an under-pressure manager the boot, a mini squad overhaul and the returns of a few key players can be a far more effective solution.
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