Joe Hart and Pablo Zabaleta will start against their former club Manchester City in today’s historic Super Match – the first-ever fixture between two English Premier League clubs to be played in Iceland.
Hart and Zabaleta, who both won two Premier League titles during their time at the City of Manchester Stadium, are named in a strong and experienced West Ham United team at Reykjavik’s Laugardalsvollur national stadium.
Manager Slaven Bilic has selected England’s No1, who is on loan from City and will therefore be ineligible to face his parent club in the Premier League, behind a back four of Zabaleta, Jose Fonte, Angelo Ogbonna and Arthur Masuaku.
Four of the back five have won domestic titles during their careers – Hart and Zabaleta in England, Ogbonna in Italy with Juventus and Masuaku in Greece with Olympiacos – while Fonte helped Portugal to win UEFA Euro 2016 last summer.
Pedro Obiang partners captain Mark Noble in central midfield, with Andre Ayew, Edimilson Fernandes and Marko Arnautovic supporting centre forward Toni Martinez.
Spaniard Martinez goes into the game against compatriot Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City full of confidence after scoring in each of the Hammers’ last two pre-season matches against Werder Bremen and Altona 93 in Germany.
Chicharito will start the game on the substitutes’ bench alongside Adrian, Sam Byram, James Collins, Declan Rice, Nathan Holland, Robert Snodgrass and Moses Makasi.
Bilic’s team selection has been limited by injuries and suspensions, with Winston Reid unavailable after being sent-off in Hamburg on Tuesday evening and the likes of Manuel Lanzini, Cheikhou Kouyate, Aaron Cresswell, Michail Antonio, Andy Carroll, Sofiane Feghouli and Diafra Sakho not making the trip to Iceland due to a variety of ailments.
Kick-off is at 2pm GMT (3pm BST) and the match will be screened live in the UK by British Eurosport 1.
West Ham kick-off the new Premier League season at Manchester United on Sunday 13 August, with the game being broadcast live by Sky Sports.
West Ham United: Hart, Zabaleta, Fonte, Ogbonna, Masuaku, Obiang, Noble (c), Ayew, Fernandes, Arnautovic, Martinez
Subs: Adrian (GK), Byram, Collins, Rice, Makasi, Holland, Snodgrass, Chicharito
Manchester City: Ederson, Kompany (c), Stones, Otamendi, Yaya Toure, De Bruyne, Sane, Silva, Danilo, Jesus, Aguero
Subs: Muric (GK), Grimshaw (GK), Walker, Sterling, Mangala, Bernardo, Fernandinho, Roberts, Zinchenko, Adarabioyo, Diaz, Foden