West Ham United will look to recover from a bad couple of weeks and move a step closer to preserving their Premier League status for another year when they face Leicester City at the King Power Stadium on Saturday.
The Irons looked to be well on their way to guaranteeing survival when they beat Southampton and drew with Chelsea at the end of March and into April, but they have since taken one point from a possible nine, including successive 4-1 defeats against Arsenal and Manchester City.
The east London outfit’s performance against the top flight champions at the London Stadium last weekend was particularly disappointing, as they never looked as though they believed they could get anything from the game.
David Moyes’ men go into their clash against the Foxes just three points above the relegation zone and with Manchester United and Everton still to play, although they may be facing Claude Puel’s men at a good time.
The Frenchman’s team look to be on their holidays already following a poor sequence of results, and they were thrashed 5-0 by Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park last time out.
Moyes made three changes for the visit of Pep Guardiola’s men on Sunday, and the 55-year-old could be considering making wholesale alterations to the XI again in order to try and get a win, which would leave discontented Irons supporters on Twitter with something of mixed emotions considering they don’t appear to want the Scot in charge next season.
Here is how West Ham must line up against Leicester…
With Joe Hart ineligible against his parent club, Adrian came into the side against City, but the England international should return between the sticks following a less than convincing display from the Spaniard.
Even though Aaron Cresswell had been doing a decent enough job as makeshift left-sided centre-back and Arthur Masuaku was featuring at left wing-back, David Moyes decided to switch things up by bringing in Patrice Evra for Masuaku against Guardiola’s side, before playing the former Manchester United man in Cresswell’s position and moving the 28-year-old forward.
It was a tactic that didn’t really pay off and as well as dropping Evra for Masuaku against Leicester, the 55-year-old manager should also take Declan Rice out of the limelight following a couple of tough games, and bring the experienced James Collins back into the XI alongside Cresswell and Angelo Ogbonna – as long as he is fit enough to start.
With little competition for places in the middle of the park, Cheikhou Kouyate and captain Mark Noble have been regulars in the midfield, but that needs to change for the visit to Leicester.
The duo aren’t doing enough as a partnership in a crucial area, and while the skipper should keep his spot in the XI as you need players that really care about the club at times like this, he should be partnered by the returning Pedro Obiang.
The Spaniard is hoping to be fit enough to start having returned to training following an injury he suffered in January that was expected to keep him out for the rest of the campaign.
Those two should be flanked by Pablo Zabaleta and Masuaku at wing-back.
While Arnautovic has been West Ham’s best player this season, his attacking threat has dried up a little in recent weeks – not helped by the fact he was left isolated against City – and perhaps he needs to drop back from a centre-forward role into an attacking midfield position for the trip to Leicester.
Alongside Manuel Lanzini, the Austria international could cause some real damage and despite their well-publicised bust-up this week, Moyes should also look to start Andy Carroll up top.
There is no doubt that the tall centre-forward can give a fragile Leicester defender that conceded five goals last time out plenty to think about, and he could prove to be a key man at the King Power Stadium with his sheer presence potentially giving more space to Arnautovic and Lanzini.
Do you agree, West Ham fans? Let us know below.
