Is it too early to Declare the Match vs Wolves a Must-Win for West Ham?

The last time West Ham United lost their first four matches to begin a Premier League season was 2010-11 under Avram Grant. That was the last time the Hammers were relegated.

West Ham enter match week 4 against Wolves having lost the first three games of their campaign for the second season in a row. They currently find themselves at the bottom of the table as the only top-flight team sitting on 0 points, and they have a -7 goal differential.

The Irons are in the midst of a run of games in which they play five clubs from last year’s top 6 in their first nine matches. The first outlier where three points were expected was vs Bournemouth in the home opener. And we know how that turned out. The next one up is this Saturday’s affair with Wolves.

It’s a match the Hammers must win.

First, for practical purposes, they need the three points. A win would likely move the club right out of the cellar and completely out of the early season drop zone, depending on the results from matches involving the clubs around them. But that’s not a stretch to consider by any means. Second, a win would give them a result in one of the matches they are expected to win before October after squandering the first such opportunity a couple of weeks ago.

And finally, they simply need a boost of confidence, a shot in the arm, some belief in the system that Manuel Pellegrini has brought to East London. Pellegrini could use his first league win with the club too. It would show supporters and the board that the players he brought in over the summer are starting to integrate into the side and that’s he’s zeroing in on his best XI.

More from Green Street Hammers - West Ham

• Brighton vs West Ham predictions: Can James Ward-Prowse help end the curse?
• West Ham and two Premier League rivals made huge transfer stand
• Lucas Paqueta bet allegations discussed in West Ham and Man City transfer talks
• Bournemouth vs West Ham predictions: Premier League opener amid transfer chaos
• West Ham near Denis Zakaria transfer after final James Ward-Prowse bid

Another loss and let’s just say the optics would be very bad for West Ham.

They would head into the international break on no points and looking up at everyone in the table. They would’ve lost to a newly promoted side in a home game for the third time in a row going back to last season. They would’ve lost again to a team they were expected to beat and expected to finish above at the end of the season. These are precious points to let slip away when every single one counts towards that magical and hypothetically safe 40 point mark.

History on our side?

Besides, the Wolves have just one win in their last nine against West Ham away. Granted those battles were at Upton Park. And Wolves haven’t scored a goal in their last two top-flight away matches losing by a combined 5-0.

Imagine the uproar among the Hammer supporters if Wolverhampton waltzed into London Stadium and waltzed right back out having bagged all three points!

The Irons figure to make more lineup changes against Wolves after the Midweek Carabao Cup win over Wimbledon. The performances of Cresswell, Rice and Yarmalenko, along with Diop’s goal, could be additional foundational blocks the club needs to build upon for this matchup. Add in the continued strong play from Snodgrass and Anderson and the Gaffer could be closer to finding that best XI.

He needs to find them. The players need him to as well, so they can start to come together as a unit. So they can get used to playing with each other and so they can be more clinical in the final third and finish their chances when they take them.

If that happens then West Ham United could get all three points in what is shaping up as a must-win game early on in the 2017-2018 Premiere League Campaign.