Big Sam’s Baggies aim to stop West Ham’s rampant run of form

West Ham vs West Bromwich Albion Preview

West Brom will be looking to build on their 3-2 away win against Wolves at the weekend as they travel to a very much in-form West Ham United team who are unbeaten in their last four Premier League matches.

After a hard fought 1-0 win over Burnley on Saturday, the Hammers will hope to add to their points tally and keep the European dream alive with a third successive win to go level on points with Everton, who are currently in 6^th place with a game in hand.  David Moyes may well be looking to dive into the transfer market for a new striker after Sebastian Haller’s January move to Ajax, and West Ham having narrowly won three games in a row in all competitions just by 1-0 could be concerning having struggled to kill off games.  However, the recent return of Michail Antonio scoring the winner at the London Stadium against Burnley could spark a return to his best form of last season and change Moyes’ mind to prove he’s the main man to lead the line.

The home side’s defensive record of late will please the manager and give the team more confidence going into this game, as they are yet to concede a goal in 2021 following four successive clean sheets in all competitions.  West Ham’s defensive success in recent games has been massive for the points picked up , with Angelo Ogbonna and Aaron Cresswell  at the heart of the back line.  The Baggies will be looking very much to break the solid structure of the West Ham defence but could prove difficult as they have only managed a disappointing 14 goals in the league this season.  Only Sheffield United (10) and Burnley (9) have scored less.  Despite their poor goal scoring record this season, West Brom will be going into this fixture all guns blazing having netted three away goals at the Molineux in Sam Allardyce’s first victory as Baggies Manager, thanks to two well placed penalties from man of the match Matheus Pereira and a looping header from Semi Ajayi for their first away win of the season.

West Brom remain nineteenth, five points off safety from the relegation zone, but a crucial win at Wolves may well be the boost they needed to kick start their year going into the second half of the season.  However, the Hammers are unbeaten in their previous nine Premier League meetings on home soil against Albion, a record that Allardyce’s side will be hoping to put to bed.

 

Team News

After a very positive performance against Burnley on Saturday, Moyes will be unlikely to name a muich changed lineup so Michail Antonio is most likely to lead the line and will be looking to add to his goal tally after a stuttered return from injury, with Said Benrahma hoping to get off the mark in the Premier League following promising performances.

Fabian Balbuena is currently isolating after coming into close contact with someone who had tested positive for COVID whereas Arthur Masuaku is still at least a couple of months away from a return who is still recovering from a long term knee injury.

Conor Gallagher is able to return after his suspension is over and could be put straight back into Sam Allardyce’s line-up. Matt Philipps and Sam Johnstone, who has been terrific for the Baggies this season, are both ruled out after testing positive for COVID-19.

Conor Townsend is still a while away from a return with a knee problem. Karlan Ahearne-Grant is also ruled out with an ankle/foot injury and may not return for up to 5-6 weeks.

Former Hammers winger Grady Diangana will be sad to miss out on facing his old club with a hamstring strain and is ruled out.

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