PREVIEW: West Ham host Nottingham Forest in relegation six-pointer at the London Stadium

4 days ago 2

In a game which could be make or break for both managers, Nottingham Forest travel to the London Stadium to face West Ham in a relegation six-pointer as the two teams sit four points away from each other either side of the red dotted line.

West Ham will look to bounce back from a dismal display away at basement boys Wolves where they succumbed to 3-0 defeat which followed a 2-1 home defeat to Fulham. These poor results have left West Ham four points away from safety and at risk being cut adrift with Burnley and Wolves before mid-January. This latest loss was West Ham’s fifth defeat in their last 10, a run in which they have only won once. One of the main reasons why the side is struggling so much this season is their woeful defensive record.

The Hammers have conceded 41 goals this season, the worst of any side in the Premier League. Jean-Clair Todibo and Max Kilman have struggled for form and Nuno Espírito Santo’s attempts to find a fruitful partnership have been largely fruitless. Another factor has been West Ham’s home ground. Since moving to the London Stadium, a strong disconnect has formed between the fans and the board, making the London Stadium less a fortress and more a fruitful visit. West Ham have lost eight times at home this season, accruing just 0.7 points per game.

Alas, it isn’t all bad for the Hammers. Striker and captain Jarrod Bowen has been once again the main man this season, contributing to 38% of all of West Ham’s 21 goals.

As for Forest, much has been made of the Tricky Trees’ season so far after two managerial sackings already, and Sean Dyche will be looking to avoid being the third as the Midlands club head to London. Forest are in almost equally bad form after winning only one of their last five games and scoring just two goals in that period. After this, Forest face league leaders Arsenal at home before traveling to Brentford in their next fixture either side of difficult matches in the Europa League.

As with West Ham, one of the few bright sparks in Forest’s season is that captain Morgan Gibbs-White has continued on from his strong form last season which has been the catalyst for many of Forest’s positive results. They managed to stave off an approach from Spurs in the summer where it seemed inevitable he was headed to North London. The move fell through and, since then, Gibbs-White has contributed to 28% of all of Forests goals this season, proving him invaluable to the team.

West Ham will continue to be light in defence as Nuno’s first choice full backs El Hadj Malick Diouf and Aaron Wan-Bissaka who are still representing their nations at the Africa Cup of Nations. To further add to West Ham’s defensive woes, Todibo is faced with a struggle to return to fitness after missing the defeat at Molineux. Otherwise its a clean bill of health for West Ham.

Forest have a slew of injuries to contend with, Chris Wood was a monster in-front of goal last season netting 15 times for however this season the Kiwi has largely been confined to the treatment room and is expected to have surgery which will rule him out for an extended period of time. Elsewhere Ryan Yates could make his return to the bench on Tuesday and he may be needed after Dan Ndoye and Callum Hudson-Odoi sustained issues in the sides defeat at Villa Park last week and will face a race against time to be fit for Tuesday. Goalkeeper John Victor injured his knee during a moment of madness at Villa Park and will likely be replaced by Matz Sels in goal as the Belgian returns to the starting line-up. Willy Boly and Ibrahim Sangaré are on international duty at AFCON.