Preview: West Ham look to continue winning run as they host Wrexham | OneFootball

Wrexham travel to the capital on Friday night as they’ll take on an in-form West Ham side at the London Stadium.

The last time these two sides met was in the 1996/97 season, in an FA Cup third-round replay. Wrexham won 1-0 at the Boleyn Ground.

It’s been quite a contrasting few years for both teams, with the Welsh side earning consecutive promotions from the National League to reach the Championship. As for the Hammers, their UEFA Europa Conference League success in 2023 seems a distant memory after being relegated from the Premier League last season.

West Ham, who had a poor start to the season, seem to have found their feet and come into Friday’s game unbeaten in their last five games in all competitions.

Tuesday night, the East Londoners earned a hard-fought three points away at Bolton Wanderers, coming from behind to win 3-2 thanks to Jarrod Bowen’s 77th-minute winner in front of the 4,646 travelling fans.

After a high finish last season, Wrexham’s start to the current campaign has been underwhelming. They’ve won one game, which was away at Millwall, lost one and have drawn four.

They’ll see their 1-1 draw with Burnley on Tuesday as disappointing, given how poorly the Clarets have started the season. Summer signing Jacques Ekomié scored Wrexham’s goal.

Wrexham will be without Max Cleworth for the Welsh side’s trip to the capital. The Reds boss also confirmed that Ollie Rathbone and Dom Hyam will both face late fitness tests to determine their availability.

Another positive is that Ben Sheaf is set to be available for selection for the first time this season, and Josh Windass will also be available, despite being substituted at half-time against Burnley after picking up a knock.

Hammers boss Nuno Espírito Santo is likely to rotate the team, which we have seen him do on numerous occasions this season already.

Taty Castellanos is likely to return to the matchday squad after being rested against Bolton on Tuesday night, after he picked up a slight knock against Derby County last weekend.

Tomáš Souček remains unavailable for selection, but is now back in training and could be set to make his return against rivals Millwall next weekend.

Nuno spoke ahead of the game and commented on what he is expecting from the Welsh side.

“I expect a tough team. They are a physical team, very aggressive with good, talented players, and we know it’s going to be tough because they are a good opponent.”