Julen Lopetegui insists he is certain that his West Ham side will improve under his management following a poor start to the season. The Hammers have won one, drawn one and lost three of their five Premier League games, and were knocked out of the Carabao Cup after being thrashed by Liverpool on Wednesday.

Summer signing Rodriguez and Edson Alvarez have not yet gelled as a midfield partnership. Their lack of pace was exploited in the last two games. A possible solution could be playing Carlos Soler, the season-long loan signing from Paris Saint-Germain, alongside Alvarez.

West Ham manager Julen Lopetegui jokingly ruled himself out of his side's next game after ending up on crutches following their heavy League Cup loss away to Liverpool.The Spaniard hobbled around West Ham's training ground on Thursday and could still be using crutches for the Premier League match at London rivals Brentford on Saturday.