Leeds United will be chasing their first win of the New Year this evening when they welcome West Ham United to Elland Road.
Ahead of the contest, we caught up with Football.London’s West Ham United writer Jonty Colman for the lowdown on the Hammers.
It’s fair to say West Ham United have struggled this season, but what’s the mood in east London like as we enter the new year?
Not good, in all honesty. I think there is such an expectation on the club considering how impressive the last two seasons have been, both domestically and in Europe. They enter the Leeds game level on points with the relegation zone (at the time of writing) off the back of five straight league defeats, their worst run since April 2017.
Of those five, they have lost at home to Brentford, Crystal Palace and Leicester City, all games where really, they should be aiming to take maximum points. On top of that, they have spent around £160m on eight summer signings and not many, if any of them, have matched the bill so far. The next few games feel massive, especially with a very tricky February to come.
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Is David Moyes starting to come under pressure, do you think?
Definitely, but it comes more externally than it does internally. He has had the club’s backing and continues to do so, but he’s under no illusion that results must improve as a matter of urgency.
Many fans have called for a change, but really, there does not seem to be an obvious replacement available, should the club make the change. Fans want to see improvement fast and are entitled to do so, but he definitely has credit in the bank for his prior successes at the club, more with the club than the fans.
The Hammers have picked up just four points on the road, what gives you confidence they can add to that tally on Wednesday night?
I think a number of their away performances have been down to fine margins. The game they did win at Aston Villa, they did get fortunate, but they were robbed of a point at Chelsea. They also had chances to nick at something at Liverpool and Manchester United, led at Arsenal with less than 40 minutes to go and conceded in controversial circumstances at Southampton. It will be a tough test, but wins in their previous two visits will help.
How will West Ham line up and who should Leeds be looking out for?
It’s tough to say. Normally, 4-2-3-1 would be a safe bet, but against Brentford, Moyes switched to a 3-4-2-1 and perhaps, that could be the way forward. While the side have largely underperformed this season, the likes of Jarrod Bowen and Said Benrahma have looked lively recently and could be key to getting a result. There could also be a long-awaited full league debut for Nayef Aguerd, who had an excellent World Cup with Morocco.
How do you think Leeds can cause West Ham problems?
Brentford showed two ways of getting at West Ham. One, via direct set-pieces and two, pace on the counter attack, something naturally associated with Leeds. A lot of it has been individual errors, their bigger problems come in scoring as opposed to keeping goals out.
How do you see Wednesday’s game at Elland Road going?
Honestly, it’s tough to call. I think I’ll sit on the fence with a 1-1 draw, which considering recent form, would be better than a sixth straight defeat.
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