West Ham should start Masuaku against Wolves (As well as Cresswell)

There are a lot of people who say never change a winning side. However I think West Ham should make one significant change for their Wolves clash, down their left hand side.

Whilst there is a lot of wisdom in not changing a winning side, sometimes there is a need to. West Ham did well to hold the ball as long as they did against Chelsea, partly due to the interchange between Fornals and Anderson on the left hand side of the attack. But Wolves will run a different game, and we should adapt.

Wolves will attack with pace down the wings, and it it is vital that we are not exposed in a way that will stop Cresswell pushing forward the way he did with such impact against Chelsea. And I think we can play Masuaku in front of Cresswell to aid in the containment of their pace, and to help Cresswell on the wing.

More from Green Street Hammers - West Ham

Obviously this will change the way we attack because Fornals naturally drifted infield during the Chelsea match, creating natural space for an overlap. Masuaku will stick wider due to his stronger left foot, which will mean there is less space for Cresswell, but increasing the chance of us getting the ball into the box with a decent delivery.

ExWhuEmployee said that Antonio may struggle to start again so soon after an injury lay off, but even Haller in the middle is a decent aerial presence. Or if we whip the ball in behind the defence, he has the movement ability to try and get on the end of those as well. And this is likely to be where we score from. But if they drop deeper to counteract the crossing, it will free up space for Anderson centrally to take on the shot for himself. But if we’re having Cresswell pinned back by the potential threat of a counter attack, we’re going to have real issues getting the ball in the box with Fornals on the left of the attack.

Next. West Ham will live or die by crossing vs Wolves. dark

So as Pellegrini fights for his managerial career at Wolves, he has to try and resist the temptation to not change a winning side. Making sure we don’t fall victim to this opponents strengths should be the main focus, but there is a desire to chase wins after a poor streak. Lets hope that Pellegrini does enough thinking to make a winning choice.