Last time West Ham thought they could win back to back in the Premier League they cam up short. Pellegrini’s men must make sure this doesn’t happen again.
West Ham have not managed back to back Premier League wins since January 2017. That is a sad state of affairs and one that we should be righting this weekend. After beating United at home we should have made it back to back against Brighton. However due to our slow play and ineffective attack, we slumped to a disappointing loss. Huddersfield offer a similar challenge, and we must learn.
As we mentioned in our podcast, Huddersfield aren’t going to come out firing against us this weekend. We’re a side that have more in our arsenal than they do, and our pace could hurt them if they over commit. However they will look to utilise their strengths and play on our inconsistencies. For the Hammers to get this win, they need to move the ball quickly.
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In the match against Brighton we played into their hands by being extremely slow. We may have dominated possession and had a number of shots, but there was very little penetrative play. However against Burnley we looked to attack fast first, then recycle if there was nothing else available. If we take that approach then Huddersfield will struggle to keep us out.
So far the Huddersfield defence has struggled to deal when defending on the move. Sides that move them around create opportunities, but we must be aware of their wing backs. If we consistently allow them to get back and add to their back line we will find ourselves devoid of space and opportunity. Anderson’s goals and attacking space last week came from quick movement across an understaffed defence, so hopefully we do learn from this.
Another key point will be the continued support of Arnautovic from Snodgrass and the central midfield. When we took on Brighton we had no-one willing to help the Austrian out, and it made him very easy to defend against. He’s one of the best all around strikers in the league, and leaving him isolated is not helping our chances of pushing up the league table.
So simple advice really. Keep moving the ball and don’t leave our striker, and probably best player, isolated. The game is there for us to win and build some momentum. Although City is the next match, and they’re scoring for fun right now, it’ll be good to take any confidence we can into the game. A loss to Huddersfield won’t really do much to inspire the fans or the players.