Hammers Midfield Mayhem Is Just A Shirt-Pull Away

You couldn’t make it up. Lopetegui facing a string of must-win games, Bournemouth on Monday and then the even tougher challenge of Brighton five days later. Having endured suspensions for Mohammed Kudus and Edson Alvarez already this autumn, a huge threat looms for the home game on the 21st December.

The whole midfield quartet of Lucas Paquetá, Tomas Soucek, Carlos Soler and Guido Rodriguez sit one just yellow card away from suspension. They will all be walking a disciplinary tightrope against Bournemouth on Monday night. If two or three receive yellow cards – as is becoming customary in this era of ill-discipline under the Hammers head coach, then all those ‘carded’ will miss the Brighton game.

So it is quite conceivable that the whole of West Ham’s starting midfield on Monday night could be suspended for the following crucial game. What kind of mayhem would that produce.

If West Ham don’t come away with points from Bournemouth, the head coach could be scratching around to put a midfield together at all in his ‘swansong-must-beat-Brighton-at-all-costs or be sacked’ game.

West Ham could, possibly, start that match with Edson Alvarez and Andy Irving as the only two available midfielders.

Suddenly the task against Bournemouth appears tougher – whichever of the four start in midfield on Monday night will be desperately trying to avoid their fifth card – tiptoeing around against an aggressive opponent never helped the cause.