West Brom vs West Ham: Preview and Predictions

West Ham visit West Brom in the fifth premier league week on Saturday.

West Ham come in from their first win in the Premier League. To continue to improve the Hammers’ campaign they should look to beat another team and this time will have West Brom as their adversary, at The Hawthorns on Saturday.

Both clubs are coming from an irregular campaign; West Brom have two victories against Bournemouth and Burnley. However, in the last few games, they have suffered from a draw and a loss to Stoke City and Brighton.

The bad news for the East-Londoners, Manuel Lanzini should be unavailable for one more week. On the other hand, Marko Arnautovic returns from suspension and will be an option to start in the XI.

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Can West Ham continue the good form or will they return to their previous state?

Why West Brom could win

Whilst the Baggies have one absence, Oliver Burke’s suffered injuries last weekend and thus should be out of the game against the Irons. However, they might be having another player back: Gareth McAuley. Yes he is 37, but he is a savvy defender and is more than capable of causing a nuisance of himself at both ends of the pitch.

Moreover manager Toni Pulis still has Gregory Krychowiak, Keiran Gibbs, Jay Rodriguez to start Saturday. Besides Burke’s absence, they have a complete and full-commitment to win the match.

Why West Ham could win

The Irons may be the favourites after a convincing victory over Huddersfield. This aligning with the Burke’s absence should mean the Hammers win the match. Even playing away, Slevan Bilic must repeat the 4-3-3 form, instead of 4-2-3-1. Perhaps this time he could trust Arnautonic, who returns from a long suspension or even put André Ayew into the 11 men. Why not?

However, we may possibly count one more time on the duo between Javier Hernandez and Andy Carroll. In this case the 4-4-2 would be a better option. Chicharito does not deserve play as a winger, which is not his original position and could be frustrated if he does not score a goal as he did on Monday. Therefore, the coach might find a solution.

This will be a tremendous headache to Bilic to set the XI, especially because the whole team are having hungry to take another victory. I must say that we still have a talented boys in our academy, in case of Bilic try to repeat the old shape. So what do you think? Whom Bilic might set up on the 11 men? Is Arnautovic, Ayew or Andy Caroll?

Predicted Lineups

West Brom

Foster; Dawson, Evans, Hegazzi, Gibbs; Barry, Phillips, Livermore, Krychowiak, Brunt; Rodriguez.

Tactic: 4-1-4-1

West Ham

Joe Hart; Zabaleta, Fonte, Reid, Collins, Creswell; Koyaté, Obiang; Antonio, Arnautovic and Chicharito.

Tactic: 5-2-3

Next: Tactical issues facing Bilic and the Hammers

Verdict

It’s not an easy task to get a win over West Brom. However, I believe that the Hammers will repeat the same team effort and full-commitment against the Baggies. Because The Irons have even a more talented squad than Albion, there’s no reason that shouldn’t lead to victory.

Plus, after a victory on Monday, the side has more chemistry and experience on the ground to get another victory in the league. Even without Lanzini, we could still demonstrate the team-spirt and great effort to beat our hosts.

West Brom 0-2 West Ham

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