West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic has named arguably his strongest team of the season for today’s Premier League fixture at Burnley.
The Hammers boss had a near fully-fit squad to choose from, with just the injured James Collins and Domingos Quina unavailable for selection at Turf Moor.
Bilic welcomes Manuel Lanzini and Marko Arnautovic back into his starting XI, with Andre Ayew and captain Mark Noble dropping to the substitutes’ bench.
The Argentina playmaker and Austria attacker are among ten full internationals in the West Ham side, with Michail Antonio being the only starter not to have been capped at senior level.
England goalkeeper Joe Hart starts between the sticks, fresh from helping the Three Lions qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup finals during the recent international break.
Hart’s England teammate Aaron Cresswell and Lanzini’s compatriot Pablo Zabaleta will fill the full-back positions in a back four, with Portugal’s Jose Fonte and New Zealand skipper Winston Reid forming the centre-half partnership.
Reid will wear the captain’s armband for the third time in the Premier League this season, having also led the team in Noble’s absence through a toe injury against Huddersfield Town and West Bromwich Albion.
Cheikhou Kouyate will anchor the midfield, with Antonio starting wide on the right, with Arnautovic on the left fresh from his fine performances for Austria during the recent international break.
Following his outstanding cameo off the substitutes’ bench in the 1-0 home win over Swansea City, No10 Lanzini makes his first Premier League start of the season at Turf Moor.
The South American was by far West Ham’s biggest creative influence last season and his return to the starting XI will undoubtedly give the team a huge boost when it comes to posing an attacking threat.
The forward line will be led by England’s Andy Carroll, who is seeking his first goal of the season, and Chicharito, who leads West Ham’s scoring charts with three.
The bench is also full of top-class experience, with goalkeeper Adrian joined by Arthur Masuaku, Angelo Ogbonna, Pedro Obiang, Noble, Ayew and Diafra Sakho.
Spanish midfielder Obiang returns to the squad after missing the last two Premier League games through injury.
West Ham United: Hart, Zabaleta, Fonte, Reid (c), Cresswell, Kouyate, Antonio, Lanzini, Arnautovic, Carroll, Chicharito
Subs: Adrian (GK), Masuaku, Ogbonna, Obiang, Noble, Ayew, Sakho
Burnley: Pope, Lowton, Tarkowski, Mee (c), Ward, Defour, Cork, Hendrick, Arfield, Brady, Wood
Subs: Lindegaard (GK), Taylor, Long, Westwood, Gudmundsson, Barnes, Vokes