West Ham vs Aston Villa | PL | 14.12.25 | Predictions and Match Thread

[stubbo-admin]

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 Odds: 
WHU: 13/5
Draw: 12/5
Villa: EVS

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Running a bit late on this one, but I'll keep it brief.  I've a sneaky feeling we beat Villa.  Not overly impressed by them man for man, they've had an away trip in Europe, and it's a lot of travelling.  Plus with the Bonds memorial pagentry, the whole ground should be up for giving someone a kicking.

Predicted Team
Reckon Nuno reverts to a 4 for this game.  

Areola
Wan Bissaka   Mavropanos   Todibo    Diouf

Magassa Potts

Bowen   Paqueta  Fernandes

Wilson

Subs: Hermansen, Kilman, KWP, Igor, Rodriguez, Irving, Summerville, Fullkrug, Earthy

Not sure what's happened to Luis after a nice cameo vs Liverpool   

Predicted Result: Home Win.  West Ham 3 - 1 Aston Villa (Wilson, Bowen, Fernandes)


COYFI!

[Beef&Tomato]

Moaning about AWB, the culprit for that goal was Paqueta.

He shouldn't have given the ball away but it doesn't mean anyone who defended poorly afterwards gets excused.... What if he gives it away and Rodgers shoots and Areola drops it onto the net does that mean he's not at fault as well. 

 

Fair point.  

[Sweep]

Can literally see AWB running forward, six or seven yards ahead of Rogers, with his arm up calling for a pass as we start a counter which breaks down on Paqueta leaving AWB six or seven yards behind Rogers as they attack. Ball's in our net 15 seconds later.

[stubbo-admin]

AWB vs Rodgers did not quite turn out as hoped then.
Before the game, I would have been ok with the idea of AWB being up against Rodgers as he ( AWB) is famed for being a great one on one defender. But he did seem to lose him for that 2nd goal but would have to watch again to be sure if it was a positioning thing or whether he was advancimg and not expecting Paqueta to give it away so cheaply.  The winning goal woykd need a reaatch too. Was AWB guilty of leaving his man in too much space?  

Would a more positionally astute RB who does more of the traditional close man marking thing, would it have made a difference? Im thinking KWP here of course. Probably not but we will never know. 

Was usual shit from AWB. Switched off when running back, reacted late, had to sprint to try and get back into position, and then could slow down when arriving to cook with Rodgers shift of direction.

[Sir Alf]

AWB vs Rodgers did not quite turn out as hoped then.
Before the game, I would have been ok with the idea of AWB being up against Rodgers as he ( AWB) is famed for being a great one on one defender. But he did seem to lose him for that 2nd goal but would have to watch again to be sure if it was a positioning thing or whether he was advancimg and not expecting Paqueta to give it away so cheaply.  The winning goal woykd need a reaatch too. Was AWB guilty of leaving his man in too much space?  

Would a more positionally astute RB who does more of the traditional close man marking thing, would it have made a difference? Im thinking KWP here of course. Probably not but we will never know. 

[fraser]

Moaning about AWB, the culprit for that goal was Paqueta.

He shouldn't have given the ball away but it doesn't mean anyone who defended poorly afterwards gets excused.... What if he gives it away and Rodgers shoots and Areola drops it onto the net does that mean he's not at fault as well. 

[Rossal]

Playing Rodgers down the left more than usual but just a thought 

He started their last game there 

[Sir Alf]

Playing Rodgers down the left more than usual but just a thought 

[Beef&Tomato]

Moaning about AWB, the culprit for that goal was Paqueta.

[Rossal]

I like AWB on a game where we play fuve at the back. In a 4 he can get found out positionally. He usually compensates for it because he is pretty quick snd so many times uses his famous “telescopic” legs to steal the ball at the last even when someone gets in front of him. He does and never gas got tight on his man becase his aforementioned athleticism has not usually made it as necessary. Unfortunately Rodgers is probably the best midfielder in Europe on form and for goals currently. Im not sure but it seemed he was purposely deployed on the left against us? Or at least he was majing runs mostly on that side? Perhaps Emery and his coaching team had noticed the relatively loose marking by AWB? Or is that just hindsight? All I know is that for a player in his rich vein of form he was given far too much space and it cost us the game and points.  Rodgers plays for us we win it

They clearly targeted AWB, which is telling, given we have 20 year old Diouf on the other side.

Smart manager who watches his opponents religiously, picked out our real defensive weakness shock horror.

How did they target AWB?

[Eerie Decent]

I like AWB on a game where we play fuve at the back. In a 4 he can get found out positionally. He usually compensates for it because he is pretty quick snd so many times uses his famous “telescopic” legs to steal the ball at the last even when someone gets in front of him. He does and never gas got tight on his man becase his aforementioned athleticism has not usually made it as necessary. Unfortunately Rodgers is probably the best midfielder in Europe on form and for goals currently. Im not sure but it seemed he was purposely deployed on the left against us? Or at least he was majing runs mostly on that side? Perhaps Emery and his coaching team had noticed the relatively loose marking by AWB? Or is that just hindsight? All I know is that for a player in his rich vein of form he was given far too much space and it cost us the game and points.  Rodgers plays for us we win it

They clearly targeted AWB, which is telling, given we have 20 year old Diouf on the other side.

Smart manager who watches his opponents religiously, picked out our real defensive weakness shock horror.

[Eerie Decent]

"how did he end up on the goal line by the time Rogers shot?"

He runs back with Rodgers then stumbles as the ball comes in and he tries to block. The momentum after the stumble takes him towards the goal line. He doesnt keep running. 

Watching the highlights though he could get back goal side quicker in the build up, so then maybe he can defend the cross from the correct side rather than a last ditch attempt at a block.  Magassa done similar for the winner, starts sprinting after Rodgers but too late. 

Nah, not having that. It was typical of his usual brainless, lack of appreciation what's around him, poor anticipation and general lack of defensive nous.

I've lost count of the amount of goals we could have not conceded this season because of him.

It's easy enough to watch it again. 

I have, and I disagree with your assessment.

[Sir Alf]

I like AWB on a game where we play fuve at the back. In a 4 he can get found out positionally. He usually compensates for it because he is pretty quick snd so many times uses his famous “telescopic” legs to steal the ball at the last even when someone gets in front of him. He does and never gas got tight on his man becase his aforementioned athleticism has not usually made it as necessary. Unfortunately Rodgers is probably the best midfielder in Europe on form and for goals currently. Im not sure but it seemed he was purposely deployed on the left against us? Or at least he was majing runs mostly on that side? Perhaps Emery and his coaching team had noticed the relatively loose marking by AWB? Or is that just hindsight? All I know is that for a player in his rich vein of form he was given far too much space and it cost us the game and points.  Rodgers plays for us we win it

[Pav BML]

I think Nuno has us battling really well again and made the Potter days of getting bullied a distant memory. I enjoyed seeing Mcginn & Tielemans getting kicked left right and centre. Unfortunately, we just don't have enough in the final 3rd and in defence . Summerville causes problems but is inept when it comes to a final ball or finishing. Diouf looks completely shot to me, poor defensively with his positioning and no longer has any confidence going forward. Maybe a reset at AFCON needed for him. 
Fed up saying the same thing regarding Paqueta, just take what we can get and move on.
Can someone explain what the hell Soucek was doing when he came on? Last couple minutes and he's dropping deep to receive the ball and put a useless cross in? He should have been the furthest man forward as a target man for Wilson to work off, just bizarre..
Fulham, Wolves & Forest are key now but the board need to pull their finger out & have a striker ready to join the 1st of January 

[Sweep]

"how did he end up on the goal line by the time Rogers shot?"

He runs back with Rodgers then stumbles as the ball comes in and he tries to block. The momentum after the stumble takes him towards the goal line. He doesnt keep running. 

Watching the highlights though he could get back goal side quicker in the build up, so then maybe he can defend the cross from the correct side rather than a last ditch attempt at a block.  Magassa done similar for the winner, starts sprinting after Rodgers but too late. 

Nah, not having that. It was typical of his usual brainless, lack of appreciation what's around him, poor anticipation and general lack of defensive nous.

I've lost count of the amount of goals we could have not conceded this season because of him.

It's easy enough to watch it again. 

[Eerie Decent]

"how did he end up on the goal line by the time Rogers shot?"

He runs back with Rodgers then stumbles as the ball comes in and he tries to block. The momentum after the stumble takes him towards the goal line. He doesnt keep running. 

Watching the highlights though he could get back goal side quicker in the build up, so then maybe he can defend the cross from the correct side rather than a last ditch attempt at a block.  Magassa done similar for the winner, starts sprinting after Rodgers but too late. 

Nah, not having that. It was typical of his usual brainless, lack of appreciation what's around him, poor anticipation and general lack of defensive nous.

I've lost count of the amount of goals we could have not conceded this season because of him.

[eusebiovic]

I think alot of it boils down to the 5 games after saturday 

Brighton, Fulham, Wolves, Forest, Spurs 

We have to beat Wolves and Forest.   Then need another 4 or 5 points from the other 3 to have a chance IMO. 

At least 10 out of 15 points... otherwise it's looking pretty grim 

[Rossal]

"how did he end up on the goal line by the time Rogers shot?"

He runs back with Rodgers then stumbles as the ball comes in and he tries to block. The momentum after the stumble takes him towards the goal line. He doesnt keep running. 

Watching the highlights though he could get back goal side quicker in the build up, so then maybe he can defend the cross from the correct side rather than a last ditch attempt at a block.  Magassa done similar for the winner, starts sprinting after Rodgers but too late. 

[Eerie Decent]

Think Wan-Bissaka was maybe anticipating us breaking forward and was wrong side of Rogers when the ball was turned over, He's chasing back to catch up and get goal-side all the way until Rogers controls the ball to turn and finish.

Paqueta giving up the ball in that position leaves Diouf stranded ahead of him and AWB wrong side too.


 

I disagree completely, if he was catching up, how did he end up on the goal line by the time Rogers shot? He was running alongside him, the ball was played in, and he kept on running, like Forest Gump.

This is a common problem with him, positionally and general defensive instincts are terrible. And as someone said, and something I pointed out last season, when you watch him live, his lack of determination getting back sometimes is shocking, strolling back without a care in the world.

Im actually glad we won't see him for a while.

[Rossal]

I think alot of it boils down to the 5 games after saturday 

Brighton, Fulham, Wolves, Forest, Spurs 

We have to beat Wolves and Forest.   Then need another 4 or 5 points from the other 3 to have a chance IMO. 

[Sir Alf]

The improvements happened the hard way for Nuno via the Brentford and Leeds games. Midfield he simply  picked the younger players with more pace and energy. Up front he started using Wilson more but has to manage his minutes carefully as the bloke has an appalling injury record.  He then dropped Kilman. Ok Mavro lets Watkins get ahead of him last Sunday but generally has been a lot better than Kilman. We need better up top and at CB and ideally better back uo in midfield or at least someone to replace Paqueta as a starter every game or when he’s having a mare. But overall Nuno has made the right selection calls and the team defends better. He still needs to call on subs a little earlier although remember the options are often limited or dire with the squad he has inherited.

Will it be enough? No, we need a striker, CB and better back up in midfield and possibly LB too. 

But we have to imo be mindfful of results simce that Leeds game. We’ve lost 3 times to Arsenal away and Pool and Villa ( most in form team in Europe ) at home. The Pool game we spend the last 20 or so mins with 10.  

Yes would have been better if we had held on against Bournemouth and Brighton away but everything really depends on how we do against teams not of the calibre of the ones we lost to recently ( Liverpool the weskest of the 3 but will likely still be top 6).   City we will lose. Another team bang in form but lets hope we make it hard for them at least. The games after that will determine whether we have any chance of surviving if we can get 2 ideally 3 wins and not lose more than 1 or 2.

Honestly, I personally dont know either way. Things not looking good currently and there are so many variables like regs, VAR, deflections, conditions not just tactics, selections, subs and players making wrong decisions or errors. The emotions following a defeat cause many fans to maje simplistic statements blaming one thing which is the manager primarily or one player. Yes a mistake by a player can cost us points but typically its a combinations of things and in the PL these days, the use of the bench is also a big factor. For me thats a bigger problem for us than Nunos selections and tactics. Opinions eh?

[Rossal]

I just can't see this improvement you're all banging on about. Last 5 games, no wins, 3 points out of 15 and the last time we kept a clean sheet was against another inept Nuno team in Forest back in August. So what has he improved because I'm at a loss here.

If you can’t see the improvement then you clearly haven’t been watching. 

It's marginal and Potter aint a barometer to be going by. It's nowhere near enough to get us out of this mess. 

There has clearly been an improvement. we should have won at Bournemouth and Brighton. Disappointed with sundays result against a side who are top of the form table. 

The midfield has gone from worst in the league to very promising. We just need more quality and competition higher up the pitch. Along with a CB of course... 

We also don't look like conceding every time there is a corner. We look more coached. 

A few tweaks tactically from the manager and some more quality in depth and we should pick up some wins, whether it will be too late or not we will have to see. 

[Massive Attack]

I just can't see this improvement you're all banging on about. Last 5 games, no wins, 3 points out of 15 and the last time we kept a clean sheet was against another inept Nuno team in Forest back in August. So what has he improved because I'm at a loss here.

If you can’t see the improvement then you clearly haven’t been watching. 

It's marginal and Potter aint a barometer to be going by. It's nowhere near enough to get us out of this mess. 

[twoleftfeet]

I just can't see this improvement you're all banging on about. Last 5 games, no wins, 3 points out of 15 and the last time we kept a clean sheet was against another inept Nuno team in Forest back in August. So what has he improved because I'm at a loss here.

If you can’t see the improvement then you clearly haven’t been watching. 

[boleyn8420]

I just can't see this improvement you're all banging on about. Last 5 games, no wins, 3 points out of 15 and the last time we kept a clean sheet was against another inept Nuno team in Forest back in August. So what has he improved because I'm at a loss here.

[Beef&Tomato]

Ferret son I'd be more worried about Spurs getting tonked at Forrest.