The Imps face Premier League side West Ham United on Wednesday in the Third Round of the Carabao Cup at Sincil Bank.
City sit 13th in League One, while West Ham are 7th in the Premier League as current Conference League Champions. The Hammers faced Liverpool at the weekend, and have an important fixture at the London Stadium against Sheffield United on Saturday. The tough games keep on coming for David Moyes’ side, so he’ll be hoping to rotate his side at Sincil Bank on Wednesday.
The likes of Jarrod Bowen may sit out, but there will be plenty of talent out on the pitch, so who could start for the Irons?
There will likely be a recall in net for Lukasz Fabianski after losing his Premier League starting place to Alphonse Areola over the off-season. There could be chances in defence to the likes of Konstantinos Mavropanos, Angelo Ogbonna and Thilo Kehrer, while new big money signing Mohammed Kudus could be inline for a start after an impressive performance in the Europa League. Maxwel Cornet could get a rare chance in attack – after a difficult start to his Hammers’ career since joining from Burnley in 2022 – as could Danny Ings, who couldn’t secure a move away from the London Stadium in the summer. Kennedy’s side could be caused issues by winger Said Benrahma.
Embed from Getty ImagesA number of the Hammers’ impressive young players may get a chance in the first-team. A name that will be familiar to Imps fans is Conor Coventry. The Irish midfielder signed at Sincil Bank on loan – playing 7 games before the COVID shutdown – and has gone on to enjoy several League One and Championship loan spells. The 23-year-old will repordely not be offered a new deal at the end of the current Premier League season but the Irish Under-21 Captain may get his first minutes of the season on his return to Sincil Bank. Young striker Divin Mubama could also feature.
There isn’t much room for change in the Imps XI, with a number of injuries causing Kennedy issues. Lukas Jensen will likely start in goal, especially considering that he won Carabao Cup Round 2 Player of the Round earlier this week. TJ Eyoma could be set for a recall – the defender started our match away at Sheffield United but hasn’t featured in a league game since – while it’s likely that Paudie O’Connor and one of Adam Jackson or Sean Roughan will start. Jaden Brown may get an opportunity to come into the side on the left-hand side, with one of Lasse Sorensen or Jack Burroughs on the other side.
Ali Smith will get his chance to come into the midfield alongside Ethan Erhahon, which will give Ethan Hamilton a rest in the middle of the park. There isn’t much room for change in the attacking department, Dylan Duffy could be a candidate to start, but we will likely stay unchanged from our trip to Portsmouth with Hakeeb Adelakun, Recco Hackett and Ted Bishop as our front line. Kennedy may want to push Bishop into midfield, and start with a front two in an attempt to match up with the Hammers in midfield.
Head coach Mark Kennedy spoke pre-match and said: “I’m looking forward to it; we’ve got an incredible team coming to Sincil Bank with an outstanding manager. They are a great Premier League side, David Moyes is hugely successful, and they are having an outstanding season so far. We’ll have to be at our very best, but we go into the game believing we can win.”
Club captain Paudie O’Connor spoke to the press ahead of the game and said, “We’ve got nothing to fear, especially as we are at home. We’ve gone to places like Bristol City, Sheffield United, and Southampton and given a very good account of ourselves on all occasions, so there’s no reason why we can’t do the same on Wednesday.”
Referee: Josh Smith
Assistant Referees: Edward Smart and Nick Greenhalgh
Fourth Official: Leigh Doughty