Pellegrini’s resolve will be shown in West Ham formation despite injuries

West Ham continue to lose important players to injury as the not-available list is starting to look more formidable than the fit team. With losses to strikers at the heart of the injury problems manager Manuel Pellegrini’s resolve will be shown in his formation choice ahead of Southampton.

Let’s start with the most important player here. Marko Arnautovic leads this list and appears to be a game-time decision for the Saints. He picked up a hamstring injury against Cardiff on a short match week and has been sidelined since. He should be available for the upcoming Burnley match at the latest but could feature against Southampton.

Behind Arnautovic comes Chicharito. The man who has slowed down in his past two matches picked up an apparent hamstring injury in training ahead of the Watford match. He played in the game despite this injury but further damage could have been sustained. He is a game-time decision as well.

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Lucas Perez is next in the injured bunch and is probably the most likely to play out the three. Perez picked up a foot injury against Crystal Palace. Aptly described as a hole in the foot, Perez’s injury kept him out of the team for two matches after a stud took a bite out of the top of his left foot. With the time off and no lingering effects, Perez will likely start in this match as he was on solid form in his previous matches before getting injured.

That leaves, in order of likelihood of playing, Michail Antonio, Andy Carroll, and Xande Silva as striker options for the team. After scoring against Fulham and hitting the post twice in the loss to Watford, Antonio is rounding into form after a slow start to the season. Knock on wood, the Swiss Army Knife style player who has featured in three different positions this season is playing himself into weekly contention and is a player Pellegrini needs atop his 4-2-2-2 formation right now.

Carroll is, at best, proving to be a late-game substitution. Watford showed how high pressure defending and holding onto possession can really limit any success Carroll can have, so with the cat out of the bag when it comes to shutting down Carroll it’s hard to trust him for more than a few minutes a match.

Two youngsters who could play in Pellegrini’s favorite formation are Xande Silva and Grady Diangana. Silva has been called for by many fans to get some game time after a terrific start to his West Ham career with the U23 team. He is strong, quick, and deceptive when attacking, using his speed to get open and his clinical finishing to attack the opposition with great efficiency.

Diangana is a name that may surprise some people as a choice for striker, but it is completely situational. Pellegrini likes to play two strikers, one big and one little, and Diangana’s skills and composure in the penalty area make him a great candidate to play beside an Arnautovic or Antonio, or even Carroll type player.

If Manuel Pellegrini decides to stick with his famed 4-2-2-2 formation then it is decided that he is a man who sticks to his guns and doesn’t compromise on how he wants his team to play. It seems like a 4-3-3 makes sense due to the injuries with Snodgrass moving centrally to make room for Diangana out on the right side but don’t let fancy TV graphics fool you, watch Diangana to see if he is playing off of another striker should he feature in the team. Only time will tell, but i’d bet on Pellegrini trusting his team and his formation.