What’s in store for West Ham United before the next international break?
The first international break is all but over and West Ham United are back in action Monday night against Aston Villa. 5 matches down and 5 more to go until the next break, let’s take a look at how the Hammers will fare over the next month.
The dreaded international breaks that invade the early months of the EPL season can sometimes leave West Ham fans in agony. However, so far this season there is much to cheer about in East London as the Hammers sit in 7th with 7 points leaving everyone ready for the return of football.
On paper, the Hammers start of the season might’ve seemed easy (besides Man City) but with matches like Watford and Brighton away, it was nothing to look past. Over the next 4 EPL matches and 1 cup tie, West Ham won’t be able to sleepwalk past them either. Let’s take a look at who the Hammer face and predict the outcome.
Related Story. Early storylines for the West Ham v Villa match. light
Aston Villa away
The Hammers head to Birmingham this Monday night in the return match after the break. These two haven’t played in just over 3 years. Villa has looked tough at times but hasn’t played with much fluidity yet. With this in mind, and it being a match West Ham should win, Pellegrini will have his men ready to play and continue the winning mentality with 4 wins in a row. (3 points total)
Manchester United
These two teams split their matches last season with two heavily attacking matches. I would expect the same this season as the Hammers seem to be playing more on the attacking side of things and United are always a threat to score. This season, however, has not been as kind to the Red Devils and I think that at home the Irons will be able to play the slightly more dominant side to a draw. (4 points total)
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Oxford United away (Carabao Cup)
After a short 3 day break, the Hammers will travel to Oxford for a 3rd round match in the Carabao Cup. In the previous cup matches, both sides had stronger 2nd halves finding their ways to victory. Let’s hope that Pellegrini is really pushing for a cup run and will leave no doubt on the pitch. The Hammers win easily in this one and move onto the 4th round.
Bournemouth away
The Irons will continue the away trend just 3 days later as they travel to a tough Bournemouth. Eddie Howe always has his players up and ready for almost every match and you will be hard-pressed to find a lower side that plays so well together than them. With this in mind, I see West Ham looking a bit tired from the previous cup match and drop points, only just slightly however as they grab a draw. (5 points total)
Crystal Palace
This match will be West Ham’s first true London Derby of the season. Right now the Eagles are also playing well but have a few solid matches prior to this one. Both squads are seemingly playing about their levels at the moment but Palace looks to be the first one to slip up. West Ham wins again and finishes up flying high before the next international break. (8 points total)
Next. Declan Rice playing a role much older than he. dark
To say that West Ham could end up with 15 points before November really gets going sounds a bit optimistic but with how Pellegrini has the men playing, anything can happen. The schedule gets harder as the winter months progress so the Hammers need to get what they can now and form before things get interesting.