Key events
Also kicking off at 12.30pm this Saturday lunchtime is a crunch clash in the WSL. Here’s your minute-by-minute coverage of that one with Emillia Hawkins.
Sunderland duo Chemsdine Talbi (Morocco) and Habib Diarra (Senegal) competed in the helter-skelter Afcon final so return to the bench today. Noah Sadiki of DR Congo keeps his spot in the midfield, with it looking like a 4-4-2 from Régis Le Bris with Brian Bobbey and Eliezer Mayenda playing as a strike partnership.
So Callum Wilson is on the West Ham bench after it was revealed he was likely to stay at the club this month, amid rumours of an exit.
There is no Lucas Paquetá, who looks bound for Brazilian club Flamengo.
It was reported earlier today that the Hammers have reached verbal agreement to sign Adama Traoré from Fulham, so there is a boost to their squad on the way.
Given this weekend’s fixtures are a mirror image of the opening day of the season, there is plenty of harking back to be done – and Sunderland’s 3-0 destruction of Graham Potter’s West Ham in August has proven fairly instructive of the campaign to come. The Hammers have remained just as listless despite a change of manager while Régis Le Bris’s team, incredibly, can go fifth by doing the double over West Ham today. That position may be only temporary given the number of European contenders playing later today and tomorrow, but the fact Sunderland are still flying high after 22 games shows they have been far from a flash in the pan.
Team news
West Ham (4-2-3-1): Therelas; Its-Bisiso, Vorosas, Tododbo, Scarles; Success, Fernandes; Bown, Paban Philip, Summerful; Castelling.
Substitutes: Hermansen, Walker-Peters, Kilman, Ward-Prowse, Wilson, Diouf, Magassa, Potts, Kante.
Sunderland (4-4-2): Roefs; Mukiele, Ballard, Alderete, Reinildo; Hume, Sadiki, The Fairy, Mundle; Mayenda, Brobbey.
Substitutes: Patterson, Cirkin, Geertruida, Talbi, Rigg, O’Nien, Isidor, Diarra, Adingra.
Referee: Thomas Bramall (Sheffield)
Preamble
West Ham are sitting in a spot in the table where everyone expected Sunderland to be, and Sunderland are where West Ham – in Deloitte Football Money League terms – ought to be. But this is football, and one of the great fascinations of this season has been to see the Black Cats confound opponents after their promotion while watching the Hammers’ expensively-assembled squad struggle.
There is a glimmer of hope for Nuno Espírito Santo and his troops. Last week it came in the form of Dr Tottenham, as a 2-1 away win at Spurs gave West Ham their first victory in more than two months. The back-to-back wins in early November both came at the London Stadium so Nuno must generate some momentum with a victory today. The gap to 18th-placed Nottingham Forest would close to just two points if so, with Sean Dyche’s side not playing until tomorrow.
Sunderland will have their full complement of Africa Cup of Nations players back – they were affected by the tournament more than any Premier League team – but they managed fairly well without them, losing just once since 6 December.
The action gets under way in east London at 12.30pm (GMT) so stick with us for team news and match updates.
