Green Street Hammers
Fansided

West Ham must survive Premier League’s most brutal stretch

By Jay Korman

WOLVERHAMPTON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 29: Declan Rice of West Ham United shoots as Ruben Neves of Wolves closes in during the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Ham United at Molineux on January 29, 2019 in Wolverhampton, United Kingdom. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)
WOLVERHAMPTON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 29: Declan Rice of West Ham United shoots as Ruben Neves of Wolves closes in during the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Ham United at Molineux on January 29, 2019 in Wolverhampton, United Kingdom. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Coming off one of the biggest wins of this young season, West Ham will look to continue their winning ways against Wolves on a short week, which could prompt many lineup changes to Manuel Pellegrini’s side.

Most managers do not like to change their starting XI after a great performance, but for Manuel Pellegrini and West Ham, they may not have much of a choice. As the countdown to Christmas begins, the Premier League schedule becomes as brutal as ever.

Most clubs will play midweek games, and for the Irons, it’s important that the squad is managed properly so that the team can still pick up points, and injury risk is limited. One of the players I believe should receive more playing time is Pablo Fornals.

Fornals took Yarmolenko’s spot out wide in the Chelsea match and provided some good play going forward. Since Yarmolenko does have a pretty extensive injury history, combined with his age, I think giving Fornals a few run-outs over the next couple of weeks would be very beneficial to the overall fitness of the squad.

West Ham (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)
West Ham (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images) /

Another player who seems to be on the short end of the playing time stick is club-record signing Sebastien Haller. If Manuel Pellegrini does not change his formation, and we have all watched enough of him to see this is very unlikely, it seems as though the Chilean currently favors Michail Antonio in the starting striker role ahead of the Frenchman.

LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 30: Michail Antonio of West Ham United celebrates a goal that is disallowed following a VAR review during the Premier League match between Chelsea FC and West Ham United at Stamford Bridge on November 30, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 30: Michail Antonio of West Ham United celebrates a goal that is disallowed following a VAR review during the Premier League match between Chelsea FC and West Ham United at Stamford Bridge on November 30, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images) /

More from Green Street Hammers - West Ham

Although I cannot argue that Haller has been better than Antonio this year, I simply do not think that the club can afford to have such an expensive and talented player riding the bench in the Christmas period. Haller’s strength and aerial play should help the Hammers pick up some points in the coming months.

Even a two up top formation with Antonio and Haller playing off of one another could be very effective for the Irons. Overall, the Christmas period in the Premier League is a very brutal stretch that can destroy some teams that lack mental toughness and squad depth.

dark. Next. Declan Rice is the new leader that West Ham needs

I think Manuel Pellegrini has the players at his disposal to make it a great time of year for West Ham, it just comes down to the teams that he selects and how the players respond to him over the course of the season. Let’s hope we see a total squad effort over the next few weeks and rotate some key players into the XI for Wednesday.