West Ham v Sunderland early team news as 3 ruled out and 3 set to return

Memories of a wonderful return to the Premier League will come flooding back for Sunderland fans as their side face West Ham United next Saturday lunchtime.

Over five months have passed since the Stadium of Light faithful roared their side to a comfortable win against the Hammers on the day when Wearside hosted its first top flight fixture since 2017. A new look Sunderland side took their time to settle - but when they did they produced a performance full of energy, intensity and quality that blew away their visitors inside the final half-hour.

Play-off final hero Eliezer Mayenda opened up the scoring as the hour-mark passed before Dan Ballard and Wilson Isidor wrapped up the win and set the tone for what has been an incredible return to the Premier League. Although Sunderland and West Ham were expected to be relegation rivals during the campaign, the Black Cats are right in the mix for European qualification as Saturday’s hosts battle against the drop after winning just four of their 22 league games during the first half of the season.

Both Regis Le Bris and West Ham counterpart Nuno Espirito Santo are hoping for positive news as they begin to formulate their plans for next weekend’s meeting at the London Stadium - but what do we know about the issues facing both managers?

What is the early team news ahead of West Ham United v Sunderland?

There will be one definite absentee from the Hammers squad for the game as experienced goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski is still weeks away from returning from a back injury he suffered in a home defeat against Tottenham Hotspur in September. The Polish goalkeeper is currently training on his own but has recently explained he is hopeful he can return to full training next month.

Much like Sunderland, West Ham have been without a number of players as they represented their countries during the African Cup of Nations. However, Nuno Espirito Santo will be able to call on the services of El Hadji Malick Diouf once again after he helped Senegal reach the final of the competition. The availability of Brazilian playmaker Lucas Paqueta is not as clear with speculation over his future with the Hammers current the source of ongoing speculation. Nuno suggested the former Lyon man missed Saturday’s win at Spurs with a back injury - but recent reports have suggested Paqueta is the subject of interest from Brazilian club Flamengo.

Sunderland will have Chemsdine Talbi and Habib Diarra back in contention after the Black Cats duo represented Morocco and Senegal in Sunday’s African Cup of Nations final. Arthur Masuaku and Bertrand Traore were also in action during the tournament - but both players have returned to Wearside with injuries. Speaking ahead of Saturday’s win against Crystal Palace, Regis Le Bris revealed an ankle injury is likely to keep Masuaku out of action for four to six weeks and Traore’s knee injury means the winger will remain on the sidelines for just under a month.

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