West Ham are staring down a gauntlet of fixtures over the next month of action in the Premier League.
The Hammers face four teams inside the top six in their upcoming four matches, which could put manager Slaven Bilic under huge pressure given his side’s underwhelming start to the campaign.
“West Ham Vs Birkrikara” (CC BY 2.0) by joshjdss
The East London outfit are currently 17th in the table, having taken 11 points from their opening 11 fixtures of the season. The blame for their poor start to the term has been placed on their move away from their historic home of Upton Park to London Stadium in Stratford.
However, the Hammers have claimed eight of their 11 points at the ground, and just three on the road. Without their two home victories they would be in deep trouble indeed, although neither have been overly convincing – both coming with late strikes to defeat Bournemouth and Sunderland.
Bilic has struggled to inspire his team to produce the same quality of football that they produced last term in their seventh-place finish in the Premier League. The Hammers have struggled with injury problems, but are not the only club to have suffered and have still had the majority of their starters available that played last term.
The form of Dimitri Payet is a concern for West Ham, given that he was such an influential figure in their impressive performances last season. The Frenchman has found the net just once this season, although it was a fine finish to help his side claim a point against Middlesbrough. He will need to be at his absolute best to make the Hammers competitive in their upcoming clashes, including their match against Arsenal. Fans can head to a site like TicketGum to get their own piece of the action.
“West Ham United Vs Manchester City” (CC BY 2.0) by joshjdss
West Ham’s match against the Gunners at home last season was a true blockbuster, ending in a 3-3 draw, but Bilic’s men will be hard pressed to recreate the thriller due to their struggles in front of goal. Only four teams have scored fewer than the Hammers’ 11 goals this season, three of which occupy the three spots below them in the Premier League. It is probably one of the main reasons for the bookies favouring Arsenal for a comforbtale win with a clean sheet. For all the odds and free bets for the game be sure to check out free super tips.
Michail Antonio’s five strikes have kept the Hammers afloat, but he needs support from the players around him including Payet and summer signing Simone Zaza, who has been a disappointing thus far into his loan move from Juventus. Andre Ayew and Andy Carroll’s injury problems are limiting Bilic’s options, although the Croat has enough talent on his hands to yield better results.
If their issues up front are glaring, the defensive struggles are downright worrisome as they have shipped 20 goals in their 11 matches this season. West Ham are far removed from the solid outfit of the days of Sam Allardyce, while they were good enough last season in attack to make up for their issues at the back where they conceded 51 goals. Their displays against Watford, West Brom and Southampton highlighted their issues and unless Bilic can find a remedy his team could well be dragged into the relegation battle.
Despite their talent, West Ham are not too good enough to go down as they have proved in the past. Getting their key players to fire again will be the key, but looking at their run of fixtures it might have to get worse before it gets better.
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