West Ham should look to the past against Watford to get there first win
West Ham will travel to the northwest this weekend as they take on Watford. This matchup last in the past has been like a rollercoaster. With its ups and downs at every turn, what can West Ham do to earn their first win?
Last season West Ham faced the Hornets the traditional two times as they didn’t face off in any of the cup matches. Just like the title said, the Hammers lost the first and won the second. Pellegrini’s staff and the players seemed to have grown a lot since the first meeting and they will need to do that again on Saturday to get 3 points.
Just to quickly recap last season’s matches, the first match was an atrocious effort by West Ham as they were at the time rolling on a 4 game win streak just before Christmas when Watford came to town. The match was heavily run by the referees as both clubs combined for 5 yellows and one bad penalty. The result, Irons got in their own heads (starting with the Arni saga) and gave the match away.
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When the two teams met up in May, it was a different story. Watford got hit with a few cards, including a red, and it changed the tide to the match. West Ham closed out the 2018/19 season with two goals from the skipper and one apiece from Lanzini and Arnautovic.
One difference, the Hammers worked as a team with passing and possession that were better than the opponent. It helps when you put 9 shots on target as well. As the 2019/20 campaign is still very young, we travel to Watford to face a team that is down at the moment. Many supporters will say this is when Watford will step up but I think this is when West Ham need to attack and stick it to them.
Much like in the Hammers trip to Watford last season, most of the injuries should be healed. That means they must come on the attack just like then. In that match, the winning one, we drove the ball and held possession while attacking, not defending.
The team must play well defensively yes. However, we must learn from the previous Watford wins and loses and turn that into success. Realistically, the Hammers don’t have to look any further than last week at Brighton. Fix the defensive errors, hold the ball, and get it up the pitch.