West Ham continues their preseason planning today as they face off against both Leyton Orient and Northampton Town. What can they show us differently today?
In an attempt to showcase all of his talents and give the lads the most playtime, David Moyes will be sending the preseason squad in two different directions this afternoon. He will manage half of the West Ham squad against Leyton Orient, while most of his staff will help lead the rest of the squad against Northampton Town.
West Ham’s five Euro contenders, Łukasz Fabiański, Tomáš Souček, Vladimír Coufal, Andriy Yarmolenko, and Declan Rice, will not be in attendance once again as they still have time off from their strenuous summer of tournament football. So, as far as team news goes, that’s about it. Expect to see the same group of lads back at it again today as you saw last week in Scotland.
As for now, who will be where is still undecided, but expect to see a lot of youth once more, and Moyes and Co continue to see what the Academy has to offer them this season. Both Jamal Baptiste and Nathan Holland looked prepared to make a jump to the senior team, so let’s see if they can replicate that in today’s matches.
West Ham: Previewing today’s double-header preseason warmup
The Adversaries
Leyton Orient – The Breyer Group Stadium
David Moyes and his squad could take a quick bike ride north of the LS for this matchup, as the two sides sit just three miles apart. Due to location alone, these two sides have many similarities between each other.
Former Hammer Dan Kemp had recently made the O’s his home, playing in 24 matches last season. The O’s are settling into League Two and should make for an interesting competitor this afternoon.
Northampton Town – Sixfields Stadium
A little bit further to the north, 86 miles to be exact, will be where the rest of the West Ham players and staff make their second run out for the preseason. Much like the O’s, the Cobblers have once again settled themselves into League Two after getting promoted in 2020.
I know these are two separate matches, but they are very similar to each other. Both in style and pace, but also in connections to each other. Northampton’s current Gaffer was recently a coach at the Academy, and you can be sure that Jon Brady will know a few things about some of his opposition in today’s matchup.
After an uncomfortable draw against Dundee FC, the Hammers will want to gather a few wins this afternoon. We predict the Hammers to pull a double today, winning against Leyton Orient 1-3 and Northampton Town 0-2. The separation of squads will give the lads more time to get into the match and settle down.