Leeds vs West Ham | PL | 24.10.25 | Predictions and Match Thread

[stubbo-admin]

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Match Centre: 

 Odds: 
WHU: 7/2
Draw: 13/5
Arsenal: 5/6

 Pre-Match Press Conference: 
Official Site

 Match Preview: 
Analytics United Hammers Chat

 Watch-along:
Hammers Chat


Streams:

Sport+

 If there above doesn't work go look for a Stream from the sites listed here!

https://champagne.pages.dev/docs/gettin ... ive-sports
 

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Well after the disaster of Monday at Brentford, the thought of more West Ham in the same week is enough to put anyone in a bad mood.  The 'pros' always talk about wanting to get bad games out of their system quickly, and this gives them that opportunity, but also sets up a horrible start to the weekend for the rest of us!

Teamwise, Mavro is out with what looked a nasty hamstring injury.  Fullkrug is still broken, and Earthy remains unfit.  Otherwise the rest of the squad are fit from a health perspective....maybe less so from a 'wear the shirt' angle.

Nuno's logic for his inverted fullbacks it's been revealed was to try and counter Brentford's inverted wing thread, by showing them onto the defender's strong foot...the less said about the success of that the better.  And it struggles to explain Irving and Soucek in the pivot, beyond maybe 'they're both tall'.

Anyway, hopefully that's the last of the experimentation and we can revert to what at least appears a bit less shit.  Wouldn't surprise me to see him go with a back 5 in this game though (and what I'll assume for my predicted XI).

Predicted lineup:

Areola

Wan Bissaka    Kilman     Igor   
Summerville                                            Diouf
Magassa Fernandes Paqueta

Soucek

Bowen

Subs: Hermansen, KWP, Todibo, Scarles, Potts, Irving, Guilherme, Wilson, Marshall

The squad is now a real quandary.  We don't have a good CB pairing...Todibo looks hopeless, Kilman and Igor both left footed, with one an unknown and the other weak as the senior CB.  Mavro was signed to be 3rd choice, but he's suddenly the most important man in the back line...a problem in itself.

Summerville is a must have...the only true pace in the side so leaving him out can't be compromised.  If 3 at the back and 3-4-3 was viable, not a problem....but once again we don't have a midfield with a logical two-man pairing.  Add in that Bwoen and Soucek are the only goals, and Paqueta is the only real 'vision' and we are in a bad place with a squad that don't work in combination.

So will he gamble on a bad back two, an untried midfield pair, or leave out one of the 'key' players in Soucek, Bowen, Paqueta, and Summerville.

And as for playing a real striker....

Predicted Score: Leeds 2 : 0 West Ham.

Hoping for the best, but expecting the worst.

COYI!

[zico]

West Ham United: Areola, Wan-Bissaka, Todibo, Kilman, Scarles, Diouf, Irving, Souček, Bowen ©, Summerville, Paquetá
Subs: Hermansen (GK), Walker-Peters, Igor, Rodríguez, Potts, Magassa, Fernandes, Wilson, Marshall

From the main site.  What's the point of having a great crosser in Diouf when you play three midgets up top?!  Surely not a back three with Scarles at right back again?   What is he seeing that we dont?!

[Texas Iron]

SHIT…

No effing striker…Again…

Blame Sullivan…Again…!!!

[Massive Attack]

Holy shit! 

AreolaScarlesTodiboKilmanWan-BissakaIrvingSoucekBowen (C)DioufSummervillePaqueta

[Pub Bigot]

Holy shit! 

AreolaScarlesTodiboKilmanWan-BissakaIrvingSoucekBowen (C)DioufSummervillePaqueta

Bollocks! Where have you seen that? 

[stubbo-admin]

Holy shit! 

AreolaScarlesTodiboKilmanWan-BissakaIrvingSoucekBowen (C)DioufSummervillePaqueta

[Sir Alf]

Last 3 windows we got technical players to play a controlled possession game and physicality less of a priority than under Moyes. But Moyes had run the squad down ably assisted by Sullivan to 14 by his own admission and left a team in that last season without Rice who was giving a herculean performance most weeks to mask the complete absence of athletes in the team. A rebuild from Moyesball undercooked getting the slow Alvarez, JWP for midfoeld and the attack minded Kudus a wide right player we already had in Bowen. 100 million wasted.  

The chaos of Sullivan, Steidten and Loppy window did not fill that Rice gap from tye previous window or the reliance on Antonio up top for strength and we lost the physicality and aggression of Zouma, Ogbonna and replaced with these more technical players like Kilman and Todibo.  

The last window we got rid of Emerson, Alvarez , Kudus, Antonio, Cresswell , Agierd and a few others and got in no one for CB or striker but got a left wing back, 2 young centre mids with a bit better pace but still not filling the Rice “gap.  Again this was to support Potter who also used a controlled possession game.  

We are now back full circle to Nuno another low block and lower possession manager.  None of the gaps addressed aside from centre mid albeit not

teplacing Rice’s ability to get about the pitch 

Attrocious recruitment leads to relegation if it goes on long enough

[Massive Attack]

I'm banking on Bowen managing to pull one out the bag tonight like he can do even when all the rest of them are currently hopeless. That knack seems to have dried up for a bit but he's definitely capable of it. We honestly don't deserve him. 

[claypole]

The fact we haven't had a new manager bounce from the last 2 managerial appointments shows how much in the shit we are.

I think tonight will show if Nuno has a chance of turning it around, he got it wrong on Monday. So not much room for error tonight.

Make no mistake the blame for this shit state of affairs lay with Sullivan and Brady

[pulhampete]

I fully expect our defence to make Calvert-Lewin look like prime Ronaldo (the fat one).
2-0, maybe even 3-0.

[Elpojohn]

Most are Championship players on premiership salaries. Too many mistakes have been made in buying  players with no pride or guts for the badge , and are only in it for the money.  They do not want to get their Hair dirty or a nasty scratch on the leg. We need players with Courage and Pride. Draws are not good enough, We need to go for the Win in ALL THE GAMES.

[violator]

Not knowing the line up 0-1, once the expected shit is announced,  2-0

[Massive Attack]

I'm more nervous about viewing the Team Sheet than what the players actually do on the pitch. If anyone needs to be fired up and switched on first, it's Nuno. Don't make a repeat of Monday!

[Jaan Kenbrovin]

Dreading this. There was isn’t a line up that would fill me with confidence. If we lose this we are going to have to start beating some big clubs against all odds to stay in the mix.

Hopefully Nuno has each player  fired up enough to win their personal battles and we snatch a draw, as it’s some serious spiraling doom if we lose.

[Tomsdad]

I have no idea what will happen tonight, but we will conceed at some point.

2-0 sorry.

 

[Lato]

Anyone selecting Marshall needs to give their head a wobble


Wobbling my head now!

[El Scorchio]

Anyone selecting Marshall needs to give their head a wobble.

Not too hard in case their KAPPA falls off.

[Mad Ferret]

Anyone selecting Marshall needs to give their head a wobble.

[Massive Attack]

Don't claim to know anything......just an opinion on a disdussion board!

It was how it was laid out on the screen, nothing more than that. More a dig at Nuno, not you.

Ok point taken

 

I actually like the players you selected. Not far off what I'd go for.

[El Scorchio]

Nuno’s pre match presser wasnt encouraging. He didnt admit the changes, players in certain positions didnt work ( eg inverted backs, Paqueta false 9 etc) . He seemed to put it all down to individuals not wimning their duels.  You aint making Soucek, Irvine run faster and be aggressive, you aint gonna play an academy kid on he wrong side and having to keep cutting inside or a CB who’s stats in the air are in the bottom 30% and expect him to dominate a side like Brentford with lumps and lots of set piece strengths. There are other examples of “square pegs in round holes” so Im not sure he sees the need for legs, players playing to their strengths and believes its all about systems and formations? Either that or its a bit of kidology and he’ll change everything pike Magassa and Potts as the CDM pivot, Paqueta deeper, Fernandes more of the no 10, AWB, Diouf or KWP in their proper positions and Wilson startimg as the central striker.   We shall soon see if his ego is a problem

Don't hold your breath, never underestimate the stubbornness of football managers to admit they got it wrong.   

Also, no managers will ever sit there and do that unless it's on the whole going very well and they can afford to. Expecting Nuno to is silly. In his poisition he's never going to do that. Press conferences for managers at under pressure sides are not fun, a necessary evil and it's often the way to give short terse answers that don't give a single thing away. When your team is flying high you can go in there like Klopp and be all grinning and carefree and talk candidly and say he made mistakes or whatnot because it doesn't matter. Nuno would be stupid to do so and i wouldn't read a single thing into anything he says in his press conferences. It's just the answers which are quickest and easiest and don't invite any comeback which are given. There's no point looking for anything of note in a press conference other than who is injured or not.

Actually look at Ange when he was toast of the town at the start at spurs for an example. Boistrous, jokey, 'fun' and open answering arse licking questions with wit and glee. That all vanishes when things aren't rosey and the questions are a lot more searching. Totally different bloke.

[zico]

All opposition managers need to say to their players is "just run about a bit. They are too slow to catch you!"

[Tomshardware]

Nuno’s pre match presser wasnt encouraging. He didnt admit the changes, players in certain positions didnt work ( eg inverted backs, Paqueta false 9 etc) . He seemed to put it all down to individuals not wimning their duels.  You aint making Soucek, Irvine run faster and be aggressive, you aint gonna play an academy kid on he wrong side and having to keep cutting inside or a CB who’s stats in the air are in the bottom 30% and expect him to dominate a side like Brentford with lumps and lots of set piece strengths. There are other examples of “square pegs in round holes” so Im not sure he sees the need for legs, players playing to their strengths and believes its all about systems and formations? Either that or its a bit of kidology and he’ll change everything pike Magassa and Potts as the CDM pivot, Paqueta deeper, Fernandes more of the no 10, AWB, Diouf or KWP in their proper positions and Wilson startimg as the central striker.   We shall soon see if his ego is a problem

Don't hold your breath, never underestimate the stubbornness of football managers to admit they got it wrong.   

[Lato]

Definitely a Nunothing formation.

Don't claim to know anything......just an opinion on a disdussion board!

It was how it was laid out on the screen, nothing more than that. More a dig at Nuno, not you.

Ok point taken

 

[Massive Attack]

                                                                      Areola
             KWP                        AWB                Kilman          igor          Diouf
                                                         Potts           Fernandez
                          Bowen                             Marshall                    Jimmy

Definitely a Nunothing formation.

Don't claim to know anything......just an opinion on a disdussion board!

It was how it was laid out on the screen, nothing more than that. More a dig at Nuno, not you.

[Lato]

                                                                      Areola
             KWP                        AWB                Kilman          igor          Diouf
                                                         Potts           Fernandez
                          Bowen                             Marshall                    Jimmy

Definitely a Nunothing formation.

Don't claim to know anything......just an opinion on a disdussion board!

[Massive Attack]

                                                                      Areola
             KWP                        AWB                Kilman          igor          Diouf
                                                         Potts           Fernandez
                          Bowen                             Marshall                    Jimmy

Definitely a Nunothing formation.