Sam Allardyce had one key piece of advice for Nuno Espirito Santo when he took over at West Ham United following the wreckage of the Graham Potter era.
And, if the last few weeks are anything to go by, progress is being made in what was a previous area of weakness.
From the beginning of 2024/25 until Nuno Espirito Santo’s London Stadium debut, West Ham United had won a grand total of five home matches. Five out of 22. That miserable record would become five out of 23 when Brentford cruised to the easiest of away wins, spoiling Nuno’s first game in charge of the home supporters.
Having been there himself, Sam Allardyce knew what Nuno needed to do in order to get an extremely unhappy fanbase onside.
West Ham’s record vs Aston Villa is AWFUL! What must Nuno do to mastermind a WIN?
Nuno introducing Freddie Potts into the team was a start. An extremely popular, homegrown talent whom the supporters could get behind.
Furthermore, two-and-a-half months into his tenure, the Hammers can welcome title dark horses Aston Villa to East London with a renewed sense of self-confidence on their own patch. They have won two of the last three home matches, including successive London Stadium wins for the first time since October 2024.
But, speaking to talkSPORT, former Villa skipper Gabby Agbonlahor cannot help but feel that Leeds still have the edge over their relegation rivals. If Nuno is making this much-despised arena something approaching ‘home’ to the West Ham players, then Elland Road remains a fortress which very few armies have succeeded in breaching.
Gabby Agbonlahor thinks Elland Road gives Leeds the edge over West Ham United
Chelsea became the latest to drown in the West Yorkshire moat last week. While captain Jarrod Bowen bemoaned West Ham slipping up again – they lost two points late on against Brighton having done the same against Bournemouth – Leeds stormed into a 2-0 lead against Chelsea and kept on pushing.
Champions Liverpool also failed to win at Elland Road, thanks to Ao Tanaka’s stoppage time heroics. Nuno was powerless to prevent West Ham losing on their own visit to Farke’s plucky peacocks.
“The players are with [Farke]. The players are listening to him, and his new tactics. So, Daniel Farke has done fantastically, and the talk of him losing his job is long gone,” Agbonlahor argues, four points from six against Chelsea and Liverpool keeping the wolf from the German’s door.
“I’m going to say [Leeds will stay up and] West Ham go down.”
If only home results counted, Leeds would be 13th in the Premier League. West Ham, however, would actually be one place worse off, in 17th. Those Newcastle and Burnley wins hinted at happier days to come, but they are the Hammers’ only London Stadium triumphs in 2025/26.
Given Aston Villa’s outstanding recent form and West Ham’s dreadful record against Unai Emery’s side, few will be banking on Nuno picking up a third home victory on Sunday.
“Leeds have shown they can make Elland Road a fortress in the Premier League. Can West Ham do that?” Agbonlahor asks. “I don’t think so.
“The way the ground is, the fans are not on side with the players. I do worry for West Ham, I really do.”
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A clue; One of the three mystery men scored a hat-trick…
West Ham lost two vital points against Brighton and now need a result against Aston Villa
Nuno was furious about Brighton’s controversial equaliser at the Amex last time out. Even former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg agreed that Georginio Rutter’s 91st minute strike should have been ruled out.
But Bowen felt that the Hammers must take some of the blame themselves, sitting back, inviting far too much pressure, and eventually losing more points from a winning position.
“I’m looking at West Ham losing two points in the last minute,” says Agbonlahor, who scored 87 goals in 361 games for this weekend’s opponents. “They could never have needed a result as much as they did at the weekend.
“To miss out on that and get one point… West Ham have got to be looking and [worrying about] staying up. Can they get over the line? You can’t be conceding that goal with so many bodies in the box.
“There is still a lot of football to be played. When you come to those last eight games [of the season], I think West Ham will still be in it.
“[Lucas] Paqueta has to start turning up and stop being stupid. [Crysencio] Summerville will be big for them. It was good to see Summerville back [from injury] because they really miss a top winger who can get at players.
“Can he keep fit? Bowen has picked up as well. He’s starting to show why he’s captain of West Ham.
“It is going to be interesting. There is a lot to play for, and a lot of teams need to start getting results to pull away.”
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