Aston Villa secured back to back wins when they beat Crystal Palace last weekend. Next up for the Villans, a trip to the capital to take on relegation threatened West Ham.
I spoke to Hammers Chat to find out more about the Hammers struggles so far this season.
UTV PODCAST X HAMMERS CHAT
Despite West Ham being in a precarious position in the table, they have found success within the Europa Conference League. Do you think that West Ham’s continental success has cost them in the league?
“No, not really. I wish it did as then the solution would be relatively straight forward however we haven’t played European football since the start of November. I guess you could argue that because we had European football again, that persuaded us to invest in squad depth in the summer and the manager has repeatedly suggested the large influx of players has been to blame for the miserable (start of the) season but am unconvinced myself.”
Declan Rice is often regarded as West Ham’s best player by the media. Are there any players that have impressed this season who don’t get as much attention?
“Nayef Aguerd. We purchased him first in the summer and for £30m and it was labelled up as Moyes marquee signing, which maybe felt a bit premature when we followed it up with signings of Gialnuca Scamacca and Lucas Paqueta. Nayef missed the season Pre-World Cup after picking up an injury against Rangers in a friendly but we saw what he could do in the Conference League and the World Cup with Morocco. He had a shocking game at Old Trafford in the FA Cup but forget that, he’s been fantastic for us. IF we stay up, he will have a big part to play”.
Watching West Ham in recent weeks has been very entertaining for the neutral. There has been four goals scored in the last 3 games. Why are the games that West Ham play in so open?
“Because Forest were THAT bad and we followed it up with our worst performance in years at The Amex as we got carved open. I wish it means we will see us scoring at least a couple against Villa but it doesn’t, if anything, I could see Moyes possibly trying to secure a clean sheet first and foremost with Kurt Zouma coming back into the side after his latest injury”.
Finally, what’s your score predictions?
“Writing this before our European game but the news of Kamara being missing is very encouraging for us but I can’t believe that we will capitalise on that, we just played Brighton and did exactly what they wanted so the likes of Caciedo and Mac Allister would thrive. I will say 2-1 Aston Villa“.
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OPPOSITION FOCUS | ARE THE HAMMERS DOWNING TOOLS?
This season’s Premier League relegation battle looks like it will be one of the most exciting this league has seen. Just six points separate 20th-place Bournemouth from 12th-place Crystal Palace, showing just how close it really is. One of the teams in that battle is Aston Villa’s next opponent, West Ham United.
It’s been a difficult season so far for the Hammers, with a number of factors holding them back. In my opposition focus this week, I will be taking a look at West Ham’s season so far and what’s gone wrong. I’ll look at injuries, playing styles, as well as other factors that have led to West Ham sitting 16th in the Premier League.
In terms of injuries so far this season, it’s fair to say West Ham have been somewhat unlucky. The area in which the Hammers have been particularly hard hit in terms of injuries is the attack. Arguably their first choice striker, Antonio, has struggled with injuries, as has their Italian statement signing, Scamacca. This saw West Ham utilize the January transfer market as they bought Danny Ings from Aston Villa. To add to West Ham’s bad luck, Ings went and got injured too!
In terms of their playing style, West Ham like to use a 4-2-3-1 formation. The deep-lying midfielders, usually Soucek and Rice, enable their more attacking players to shine. This system is effective in creating chances; West Ham’s issue is putting them away. Moyes has always liked his teams to attack with width and pace, which results in his team playing a lot of crosses into the box.
However, this wide style of play leaves West Ham susceptible to through balls in behind the defense. This is something that has cost West Ham this season. This is also something that should excite the likes of Emi Buendia, who will want to exploit that weakness. Another area that appears to be holding West Ham back is their progress in Europe. The congested schedule looks as though it has taken its toll on West Ham’s squad in terms of injuries and general fatigue. It may be a case of West Ham evaluating their priorities: success in Europe or Premier League safety.
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MY PREDICTION
Things are looking fairly positive around Villa Park right now. Away form is good; Watkins is finally putting away chances, and we’ve won two on the bounce. Compare that to where West Ham are, and this should be an easy win for Villa. Having said that, Villa may be missing an important player in Boubacar Kamara. All in all, Villa should be comfortable and hopefully pick up three points. I’ll go with a 2-0 win with Watkins and Duran on the scoresheet.
AUTHOR | ELLIS BURNETT
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