West Ham boss David Moyes should make bold Mark Noble call that could yield dividends against Chelsea

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West Ham boss David Moyes should consider bringing Mark Noble back into his starting XI for tonight’s clash with Chelsea.

In other news…Report: Player could make shock return to West Ham’s January squad list

Hammers ace Manuel Lanzini is out for tonight’s game against the Blues. The Argentine was pushing for a starting spot after his impressive cameo against Crystal Palace last week.

So does David Moyes stick with Pablo Fornals on the left? Or should he mix things up?

Frank Lampard usually sets his Chelsea team up with three central midfielders. Tonight’s game at Stamford Bridge will probably see Lamps line up with N’Golo Kante, Mason Mount and either Kai Havertz or Mateo Kovacic in the middle of the park.

There is a real danger that West Ham duo Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek could get overrun in central midfield.

Moyes should bring Mark Noble back into the mix because of this in place of Pablo Fornals. We could then match Chelsea up in a 4-3-3 with Said Benrahma, Jarrod Bowen and Sebastien Haller up front.

When we do have the ball, it will be vital for us to keep hold of it. And there aren’t many better in the game at pinpoint passing than Noble.

The West Ham ace has played six Premier League games this season and has a pass completion rate of 88.3% (Who Scored).

Since the 2009/2010 season, Noble hasn’t averaged worse than 82.5% pass completion for the season (Who Scored). Considering the fact that he hasn’t averaged less than 42 passes per game over the past 11 years, that is quite an unbelievable stat.

Sure, the 33-year-old Hammers captain isn’t the player he once was. The £50k-a-week ace (Spotrac) hasn’t played much this season. His leadership and experience could be invaluable tonight, however.

Mark Noble doesn’t have great athleticism or energy. In truth, they have never been his key attributes. The 33-year-old’s passing, his wise old head and leadership may well give us something extra against Chelsea tonight though.

It’d certainly food for thought for David Moyes.