Nayef Aguerd is back for West Ham but Kurt Zouma is out and striker Michail Antonio is a doubt for the Leeds clash says boss David Moyes.
Winning games in the Premier League has been hard enough as it is for West Ham over the last year ahead of the meeting with Leeds United at Elland Road.
So the spectre of Moyes being given three games to save his job – as claimed by iNews – only adds to the weight of pressure on West Ham.
It is yet another of what promises to be a long line of games being billed “must win” for the Hammers against Jesse Marsch’s fellow strugglers.
West Ham go into the game with confidence at rock bottom off the back of five consecutive defeats and a 2-0 home loss to Brentford last time out.
Leeds meanwhile look in good shape by comparison. Leeds were widely praised for taking the game to Manchester City in a recent 3-1 loss.
And Marsch’s side followed that up by holding high-flying Newcastle to a draw last time out.
There has been some rare good news for West Ham ahead of the Elland Road meeting although it is tinged with some doubt too.
Because Nayef Aguerd should be back for West Ham but Kurt Zouma is out and striker Michail Antonio a doubt for Leeds says boss Moyes.
Speaking in his pre-Leeds press conference, Moyes delivered the mixed bag team news update.
And the headline news is that Morocco star Aguerd is under ‘serious consideration’ for the match.
“Mick (Antonio) has had a bit of illness, which a lot of people have had around the country, but hopefully he’s OK,” Moyes told the press (whufc.com).
“Kurt is doing OK, but he’s not available for this game.Nayef is getting himself back ready and is under serious consideration for this game.
“He picked up a virus and injury at the World Cup, but he’s back training and building himself up.He’s really important. He’s a new player that we’ve got to introduce to the Premier League.”
There had been hope Zouma, described as a quick healer by Moyes last week, may be back sooner than his anticipated Janury 14th return date. But the Leeds match clearly comes too soon.
Having Aguerd back will hopefully transform West Ham. And let’s hope Antonio can shake off the worst of his bug to at least feature on the bench.