Hammers need to bounce back in style

Hammers need to bounce back in style

With Nayef Aguerd the only sickness worry – although the Hammers are hopeful – he will have recovered for the match, the Hammers need to bounce back in style against the Reds of Manchester at lunchtime. The 5-1 hammering at Liverpool has – according to the manager David Moyes – now been forgotten. We shall see.

But two defeats within 10 days and ten goals conceded is not the stuff from which dreams are made so this afternoon could hardly be more key. We can leapfrog Manchester United and Brighton who don’t play until the 28th to sit on the edge of the top six.

United are not a team in form having won only one of their last six games so it really is going to be very much a case of which West Ham United turn up at the London Stadium this afternoon. We are still very much a West ham that can be great at their best and absolutely awful when the standards drop – that has been the Irons for as long as I can remember them.

However, a fit Aguerd will certainly help things at the back as Mavropanos still doesn’t entirely convince me although Mo Kudus, Lucas Paqueta and Jarrod Bowen are as good offensively as any players in the league.

So with the Aguerd situation the only proviso I will go for a 2-1 Hammers win.