Sky Sports pundit Charlie Nicholas predicted West Ham to beat Bournemouth today, whilst naming three players who David Moyes needs to get the best out of.
The Hammers are in real trouble at the moment. They are currently sitting in 17th spot in the Premier League table, just one point clear of the drop zone. And if they lose to the Cherries today, they could very well find themselves inside the bottom three at the end of the day.
West Ham have won just two of their last 13 Premier League games. And their big name players really need to stand up and be counted.
Felipe Anderson, Manuel Lanzini and Sebastien Haller have all been incredibly disappointing so far this season.
And Nicholas highlighted that fact, when writing his regular column for Sky Sports:
“Eddie Howe admitted that it is toughest time he has had since becoming Bournemouth manager. The West Ham players will be lifted. Mark Noble, Declan Rice and Michail Antonio will be looking at Moyes, he will put his arm around them and say that they are better than their position suggests. If he can get something out of Sebastien Haller, Manuel Lanzini and Felipe Anderson, then they have a very promising squad. I am going for West Ham to put Bournemouth in some bother.”
CHARLIE PREDICTS: 2-1
Nicholas is spot on.
Anderson has looked like a shadow of his former self this season. The Brazilian needs to be more aggressive in his play and use his pace to better effect.
Lanzini, meanwhile, has been completely off the boil this season. The Argentine needs to increase his work-rate and put in more of a shift. Then he will earn the right for his creative side to flourish.
Haller is a different kettle of fish, however. He must be afforded more time to acclimatise to the Premier League. He has only scored five goals this season, however, and that is a real worry.
And if Moyes can get the three players who cost just under £100 million between them to start firing, West Ham will be in a great position to start climbing the league table.
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