West Ham had an incredibly poor start to the season with a 3-0 loss against Sunderland and will want to put things right against Chelsea this weekend.
Graham Potter’s side are set to face Chelsea at the London Stadium on Friday night to kick off Gameweek Two, live on Sky Sports. The game kicks off at 8pm.
West Ham predicted lineup vs Chelsea
West Ham (5-3-2): Hermansen; Wan-Bissaka, Todibo, Kilman, Aguerd, Diouf; Ward-Prowse, Soucek, Paqueta; Bowen, Fullkrug.
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West Ham team news vs Chelsea
West Ham started two of their new signings on the opening day of the Premier League campaign. Both El Hadji Malick Diouf and Mads Hermansen got the nod against Sunderland.
Callum Wilson came off the bench, replacing Niclas Fullkrug who will be a huge boost to the squad if he can stay fit this season, after joining the Hammers last summer for a fee of around £27million.
Potter will be without Cresencio Summerville, George Earthy and Luis Guilherme, limiting his attacking options especially in wide areas.
This likely means West Ham will set up in a similar 3-4-2-1/5-3-2 formation, with Jarrod Bowen playing as a secondary striker in close proximity to Fullkrug.
Midfield could be the area we see change, as the Hammers engine room struggled against Sunderland, being overrun, which could see Tomas Soucek or even Freddie Potts replacing Guido Rodriguez.
Graham Potter with early pressure mounting
Despite holding 63% possession against Sunderland, Potter’s side conceded three goals at the weekend and only generated 0.56 Expected Goals of their own. They took 12 shots but did not manage to create a single big chance.
Potter’s record at West Ham is actually worse than Julen Lopetegui’s. The Englishman has now taken charge of 19 Premier League games, winning five, drawing five and losing nine.
Lopetegui, on the other hand, managed just 16 Premier League matches, winning six games, drawing three and losing seven.
While the English manager has improved West Ham in certain areas, most notably their defensive record, there haven’t been enough signs of these performances leading to results.
The Hammers don’t have the easiest run of games, with Chelsea up next, before facing Nottingham Forest and Tottenham Hotspur in the following two league fixtures.
If Potter is unable to acrew some points early on, and his side find themselves at the bottom of the table without performances that at least inspire some hope, the fans could turn quickly and put him under pressure for the first sacking this season.