West Ham search for their first points of the season when they host Huddersfield on Monday.
It’s matchday and West Ham are chasing points at the London stadium for the first time this season. Visitors Huddersfield are unbeaten and are actually yet to concede a goal this season. Mission impossible?
Whilst form may play a role, the Hammers do have talent. There are also a lot of things the side can do to improve their chances of success. I’ve highlighted 5 areas the Hammers can focus on to get three points in this match, picked from Whoscored.com’s Huddersfield and West Ham analysis.
Keep Huddersfield Narrow
You don’t need to watch much of Huddersfield to see where their strength lies. As soon as they get the ball their widemen hug the touchlines and the team attacks the opposition down the wings. Either through isolation of the full back or working the ball around they get the ball into the middle.
Even their central midfielder Aaron Mooy has had most success from crossing in wide positions. As such this is going to be a key match for the two West Ham fullbacks. In recent games they have been caught in limbo, but they need to have a defence first mindset today.
Cresswell and Zabaleta can both cross from deep and that should be their first port of call when it comes to attacking, because they cannot afford to get caught out of position. That would leave the centrebacks exposed, and the defence has been leaky enough already.