West Ham has the perfect opportunity to bounce back from their (very unsurprising) opening day loss versus Manchester City this weekend. That is because they face Nottingham Forest. The Hammers have only lost one of their eight Premier League fixtures in history against The Tricky Trees.
Another thing in their favor is the fact that The Irons have a sensational record against sides that are newly promoted. West Ham has won 10 of their last 14 Premier League matches against promoted sides. The only promoted side to have defeated West Ham is Brentford.
It is a huge match between two massive sides, fitting for the return of Premier League action at the City Ground.
West Ham at Nottingham Forest FYIs
Kick-off: Saturday, Aug 14, 2pm local, City Ground
West Ham Preview Material: Starting XI Prediction Team News
After Extra Time Podcast: Spotify Apple
Google Result Probability: Forest victory 23% Draw 26% West Ham victory 51%
Team News
New signing Nayef Aguerd is out until October after having surgery on his injured ankle. The unlucky defender picked up the injury during the pre-season victory against Rangers. A bitter blow for West Ham and their center back stocks. In a boost to their center back group, Italian veteran Angelo Ogbonna is on the comeback trail. After his devastating ACL injury he suffered last season.
I wrote time and time again last season that he would likely not return until after the World Cup in Qatar. I am happy to see Ogbonna prove me wrong. He played under 21s last weekend and West Ham staff consider him to be around 3-4 weeks away.
We expect Craig Dawson to return after missing the opening day fixture against City with a bit of a thigh strain. Lukasz Fabianski, the Hammers regular number one, picked up a knock on his hip versus Manchester City that left him unable to feel his leg. Hammers staff are hopeful of having him available this weekend.
Stuey’s Two Cents
This should be a great matchup, and I for one, am excited to see Nottingham Forest’s first home game back in top-flight action this millennium. The Reds have a great opportunity to chalk up their first points of the millennium, too.
Stuart Kavanagh is a journalist currently residing in Broken Hill, Australia. He writes for the Barrier Truth newspaper, along with being the owner of the sports and entertainment website thepyrrhic.com, He also co-hosts the ‘After Extra Time’ podcast and contributes at edgeofthecrowd.com when time permits.