Wolves boss Bruno Lage raves about ‘another level’ West Ham and three stars in particular were singled out for praise by the Portuguese.
West Ham are flying right now and will be hoping to continue their amazing momentum from before the international break at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The Hammers beat Liverpool 3-2 last time out and are unbeaten in seven in all competitions.
Wolves have found their feet under new boss Bruno Lage, though, and will be no pushovers.
Indeed Wolves are on some run themselves having won four of their last five games, drawing the other.
West Ham go into the game missing key defender Angelo Ogbonna who could miss the rest of the season with an ACL injury suffered in the win over Liverpool.
Wolves have three or four pre-existing long-term injury issues. But other than that both West Ham and the hosts should have otherwise fullyfit squads.
David Moyes has turned West Ham into a genuine European outfit capable of competing with the established elite.
And Wolves boss Lage has absolutely raved about the east Londoners in his pre-match press conference.
Lage picked out Declan Rice, Tomas Soucek and Pablo Fornals as the key to everything West Ham do.
Wolves boss Bruno Lage raves about ‘another level’ West Ham
And the Portuguese says ‘another level’ West Ham are a class above anything they have faced recently (Wolves.co.uk).
“Not just when they are attacking, but also very important when they are defending because they close the pitch in the middle with these midfielders,” Lage said in his pre-match presser (Wolves.co.uk).
“They’re very strong because it’s not just the attacking statistics and the way they score goals, but they are also strong when they are defending, especially the three midfielders, they are very aggressive in that area to win the ball, with good first touch, to win the transitions with goals.
“We are playing against a strong team. They are doing well, not just in the Premier League, but also in the Europa League, so we need to be on top like we did against Everton at home, with our fans at our back, to give a good performance and try to win the game.
“Their midfielders are strong to press and the three strikers in front are runners, so we need to be careful about that. The strategy of them is around that, sometimes you feel they are there not pressed, just waiting to enter in the zone, they are ready to press, to win the ball, and to attack our goal.
“We need to pay attention to that period and, for sure, we are playing against top players, if you give them space to manage the ball, they will certainly find spaces to create chances, so I think it will be interesting after these two games, after (games against opposition like) Crystal Palace and Everton, what we can do against a strong team like West Ham.”
High praise indeed.
Beating Wolves today will be no easy task.
A win for West Ham could put Moyes’s side level on points with leaders Chelsea depending on their result in the lunchtime kick-off against Leicester.
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