Three Things West Ham Must Do In FA Cup Match vs. Derby

Time To Try Something New

The Moyesian formation of 4-2-3-1 is the usually favoured setup of the skipper. Two holding midfielders anchor the four-pronged attack, with Tomas Soucek stepping up into the attack to add another aerial threat, while the wide midfielders sink deep defensively to overlap with fullbacks on offence, and support them defensively.

Against Everton, Moyes set up his team in a 3-4-2-1 formation with Emerson and Vladimir Coufal operating on the flanks to overwhelm the midfield and break up the Toffee’s attempts at attacking from wide positions. This worked well and helped secure the 2-0 win in the aptly dubbed El Crapico match.

Hopefully the success West Ham saw partly as a result of changing up their game plan can instigate some more changes and more creativity when setting up the team. I’m not holding my breath as Moyes rarely deviates from his plans, but another formation for the Hammers to deploy would help the team be less tactically predictable.

For instance, how could the Hammers line up in a 4-4-2? Well, not including Mubama as a starter, Moyes could have Antonio and Jarrod Bowen as strikers, Said Benrahma as a left midfielder, Manuel Lanzini as a right midfielder, Declan Rice and either Tomas Soucek or Pablo Fornals in center midfield, and a back-four featuring Ben Johnson, Thilo Kehrer, Angelo Ogbonna, and Aaron Cresswell.

This team would boast veteran status while mixing in elite speed and scoring ability. Bowen at striker would provide a second option to press the Derby backline, while wide support from Benrahma and Lanzini would not only open passing and shooting lanes for the striker duo to exploit but bring the threat of ranged shots from both players.