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West Ham United travels to the Amex on Championship Sunday knowing that, if results elsewhere go their way, a victory would secure Europa League football. It would be a fitting, but also underwhelming end to a season that has promised so much, at different times, for David Moyes’ men.
From flirting with a top four finish in the first half of the season to their incredibly deep Europa League run, it has been a season to remember for West Ham.
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West Ham comes into Championship Sunday with an opportunity to displace Manchester United in the final Europa League place. If they wish to do that, they will have to secure an away victory against Brighton and Hove Albion. The Hammers sit on fifty-six points, just two points behind the Red Devils.
Brighton has a superb record against the east London club. They are unbeaten in their last nine league matches against West Ham.
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As the Premier League season winds down, the transfer rumor mill has heated right up. With Championship Sunday less than a week away now, it’s time to cast an eye at the player movement market.
There is no shortage of rumors when it comes to the transfer market. Follow this series throughout the summer as I look at the likelihood of some of the transfer rumors doing the rounds and whether I think they will work out.
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West Ham plays their final home fixture of a season that promised so much this weekend. They host champions elect Manchester City.
Believe it or not, the last time these two sides faced each other at the Olympic Stadium, David Moyes’ men walked away with the win. That was in the fourth round of this season’s Carabao Cup. That match would finish 0-0 after extra time. In the ensuing penalty shootout, City could not recover from Phil Foden’s miss and lost 5-3.
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Manchester City need just four points to clinch the Premier League title, and once they get there it will mark the fourth time in five seasons that they have won this specific trophy. But in order to get there, Pep Guardiola and his side will need to overcome a genuine injury crisis in the back. Nathan Ake is the only central defender that is currently close to full fitness, and he’s still just semi-fit.
Aymeric Laporte and Fernandinho got hurt in the 5-1 rout of Wolves on Wednesday, and here is what the gaffer had to say of their status at his presser just now.
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West Ham United welcome Premier League champions-elect and goal-scoring machines in Manchester City to the Olympic Stadium this weekend. Both sides have plenty on the line in this fixture. City must win to maintain their stranglehold on the EPL title, whereas the Hammers must win in order to qualify for the Europa League next season.
West Ham snapped a four-game losing streak last weekend when they smashed Norwich City 4-0. A brace from enigmatic Algerian Said Benrahma was supplemented by goals from Michail Antonio and Manuel Lanzini. The victory ensured The Irons kept themselves in the top six battle for the 21/22 season.
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Manchester City have certainly responded well to their UEFA Champions League exit. After suffering yet another European heartbreak, they have gone on another domestic tear, winning back-to-back 5-0, and then following that up with a 5-1 win over Wolves in midweek.
City have further cemented their EPL superiority, with a 15-1 aggregate over that three-match stretch. They now have, metaphorically, nine of their ten fingers on the league title trophy.
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West Ham needs to shake off the disappointment of being bundled out of the Europa League semi-final quick smart. The Hammers head to Carrow Road to face dead last Norwich City in some horrible form. David Moyes’ men need to rediscover how to win or risk getting nothing from a season that promised so much.
Prior to their last league fixture at Carrow Road, The Irons had a dreadful record there. The 4-0 victory over Norwich back in 2020 ended a 17-game witness streak for West Ham at The Canaries’ home ground.
A Jarrod Bowen brace was enough for The Hammers to secure all three points in the reverse fixture this season. Because of the bizarre nature of the Premier League schedule this season, that match took place in January of this year.
Norwich City fell to a 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa last weekend. The result left them rooted at the bottom of the EPL table. Relegation is an inevitability for Dean Smith’s men.
West Ham fell to a 2-1 defeat to Arsenal in their last Premier League fixture. The East London club’s form line is worrying at the moment. They have not tasted victory in their last 5 fixtures in all competitions.
When is it? Sunday, May 8th, 2022 2 PM UK Time.
Where is it? Carrow Road, Norwich
Who’s in form? Norwich (DLLLL) West Ham (DLLLL)
What are the odds? Norwich (+370) West Ham (-125) Draw (+270)
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With Ben Johnson fit to appear off the bench in the Europa League semi-final defeat to Die Adler, the Hammers only have one actual injury concern.
That player is a long-term injury victim named Angelo Ogbonna. The Italian center-back suffered an ACL injury back in November 2021 against Liverpool. Unfortunately for the veteran defender, it required surgery, and we do not expect him to return until after the World Cup at the end of this calendar year.
Lukasz Fabianski will return to the goalkeepers’ position after sitting out the Europa League defeat. The Pole has been tremendous this season. He will need to be at his best to ensure West Ham doesn’t throw away such a promising season.
After going with a back three in recent matches, I think David Moyes will return to the more traditional back four against Norwich. Kurt Zouma and Craig Dawson will play as the two center-backs. Aaron Cresswell’s red card in the Europa League won’t affect his availability for this fixture. The set-piece master will start at left-back. At right-back, Ben Johnson starts after returning from injury against Eintracht Frankfurt.
Moyes will ask Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek to back up from their starts in the Europa League. I don’t think they’ll last the full 90 minutes, though. Expect to see mark Noble during this match. Croatian Nikola Vlasic starts ahead of Manuel Lanzini as the attacking central midfielder. The Argentine needs a rest.
I expect some rotation up front. Jarrod Bowen will need a rest after playing back to back 90 minutes. I think Andriy Yarmolenko and Said Benrahma will start as the wide attacking players. Michail Antonio starts as the number 9.
Believe it or not, Norwich and West Ham have identical form lines over their last five fixtures in all competitions. I have no genuine faith in either side to pick up the win. So with that in mind, I am predicting a 1-1 draw in this one. A result that will just about guarantee West Ham doesn’t take part in Europa League football next year.
Stuart Kavanagh is an up-and-coming sports journalist from Melbourne, Australia. Along with being the owner of the sports and entertainment website thepyrrhic.com, he is also the co-host of the ‘After Extra Time’ podcast. Football mad, he is always down for debate and discussion at @stueyissickofit on Twitter.
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West Ham head to Germany in the biggest match in quite some time for the East London club as they contest a Europa League semi-final. They head to Frankfurt, specifically to take on Eintracht Frankfurt, Die Adler, hoping to overturn a 2-1 first-leg deficit.
The Hammers are in real danger of ending a spectacular campaign with nothing to show for it. After spending the back half of the 2021 calendar year in the top four, expectations were high for the Irons. Unfortunately, a center-back crisis, a small squad, and some poor form have seen that all derailed in the last couple of months.
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West Ham hosts Arsenal at the London Stadium this Sunday (local time) in what could prove to be a crucial match in the top four race.
Despite West Ham not having a realistic chance of finishing in the top four, they can still have a say regarding which club wins the race. Provided Tottenham win their clash against Leicester, West Ham can hand Spurs the advantage in the race for Champions League football with a win over the Gunners.
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David Moyes will look to shake off the disappointment of defeat in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final when they host Arsenal in a London derby this weekend. West Ham will need to shake off a 2-1 loss at the hands of Eintracht Frankfurt at the London Stadium during the week.
The Hammers conceded a first-minute goal against the German side that completely changed the atmosphere in the east Londoners stadium. There was a nervy vibe around the stadium until Michail Antonio equalized exactly 20 minutes later. West Ham created the better of the chances after that, but it was Frankfurt that would create the chance that counted when they took a 2-1 lead shortly before the hour mark.
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It’s East vs North in the latest London derby of the Premier League season. Arsenal travels to the London Stadium to take on West Ham United. Should Mikel Arteta’s men pick up all three points against the Hammers, it could be vital to their top-four hopes.
Arsenal had lost three matches in a row prior to their last two fixtures in the league. Incredibly. Arsenal had lost to Southampton, Brighton, and Crystal Palace before they defeated both Chelsea and Manchester United in the space of three days. Those two victories placed the Gunners in the driver’s seat in the top four race. They currently sit in the coveted fourth place with 60 points, two points ahead of Spurs.
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