So far this season has had plenty of ups and downs for West Ham. One surprising constant, however, is Issa Diop. Diop has been, for lack of a better word, a mountain for the back line this year and someone, in my opinion, has to be one of the first names on the team sheet. His opponent this week? Leicester City and more importantly Jamie Vardy.
Tale of the Tape
As previously stated, Diop has been an all but constant defender for us this season. His only blunder was an own goal earlier in the season, but he has bounced back near perfectly since then. So far Diop has racked up 15 tackles with a 73% tackling rate. Additionally, he has successfully turned those tackles into 9 accurate long balls back out of the box showing his ability to help outlet play.
This was some block by Issa Diop 💪 pic.twitter.com/U5Xvuhgxom
— West Ham United (@WestHam) October 23, 2018
A final stat that should prove important for this upcoming match is that Diop has won 34 out of 48 head to head duels coming his way. He’ll need to be on top of his game and use his propensity for dueling this week against Vardy.
Speaking of Vardy, he has had very common start to his season thus far. Creating chances, missing chances, getting in the mix, and being a thorn in defenders backside. In my opinion, he has been the norm but sometimes the norm, in his case, isn’t always terrifying. He has produced 3 goals and an assist already this season and has a solid accuracy on net with a 47% on goal rate. But, one thing that I think Diop and West Ham can take advantage of is his amount of chances and offsides.
Defensive Style
Playing the high line will come into play well this weekend as Diop and West Ham take on the Foxes. Vardy, this week’s aggressor, has had a few times this year where he’s been caught and or rushed due to pressure and solid line movement, which the Hammers have done.
Along with Vardy’s 4 chances created, he also has 4 missed opportunities due to pressure. Additionally, Vardy has also been caught offsides 7 times which isn’t a new thing for him. Traditionally Vardy has also played right on the hip of the defense and when playing a high line and as well as West Ham has done I feel that Diop and the defense use this to their advantage by stepping up and causing turnovers.
Make no mistake, this will not be an easy matchup for the Hammers but I do believe the battle between Vardy and Diop will determine the outcome of the match. It is a must-win for both squads so I would expect to see aggression and some shoving going on this weekend! As always, COME ON YOU IRONS!