-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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
(With all live streams be mindful they can carry viruses etc. Don't click on any ads and use a VPN).
----------------------------------------------------------
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, MarshallWan Bissaka Kilman Igor
Summerville Diouf
Magassa Fernandes Paqueta
Soucek
Bowen
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!
