West Ham United manager David Moyes has some big decisions to make ahead of our crunch Europa League clash with Freiburg on Thursday night.
David Moyes will be desperate for his West Ham United side to turn things around after our 1-0 defeat to Freiburg in the Europa League last-16 first-leg tie last week.
The Hammers drew with Burnley in the Premier League on Sunday, and that was a disastrous result, there’s no denying that.
However, the second-half performance from the boys should give the players, the fans and Moyes huge confidence heading into Thursday’s European game.
Moyes has already pleaded with the West Ham fans to get the London Stadium rocking when we welcome Freiburg to our home, and now it’s up to his players to produce a big performance on the night.
I do think that there is one big change the Scot could make to his starting lineup to help us get over the line against the Bundesliga outfit…
Moyes must start rarely seen West Ham man against Freiburg
Danny Ings saved our bacon when he came on as a late substitute against Burnley on Sunday. He scored the equalising goal but on another day he could have had a hat-trick.
The 31-year-old striker joined the Hammers from Aston Villa in January 2023 for around £15 million (Sky Sports), and by his own admission he has really struggled to establish himself at the London Stadium.
He has barely played for us this season, with just 253 minutes of Premier League action to his name, and only 624 minutes in total (Transfermarkt).
However, there have been moments when he’s looked like a real weapon for us. The main one was when he played in the unfamiliar number 10 role during our 2-2 draw with Sheffield United back in January.
Ings was the best player on the pitch for us that day, and his technical ability when given the ball into his feet enabled him to link up play between midfield and attack brilliantly.
Moyes should slot the former Aston Villa man just in behind Jarrod Bowen, in order to give the 27-year-old more support – he looks completely isolated at times when playing through the middle on his own.
Lucas Paqueta would be out wide on the left with Mohammed Kudus on the right, and Edson Alvarez in the deep-lying role with one of Tomas Soucek or James Ward-Prowse just in behind Ings.
I really think this more attacking setup could work wonders for West Ham against Freiburg on Thursday night. Whether or not Moyes is brave enough to try it out remains to be seen though.
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