David Moyes has said that he would have taken parity heading into tomorrow’s night Europa League quarter-final second leg “all day long”. Except the task facing West Ham United in Lyon is complicated by the left side of their defence being absent, with one expected replacement in his secondary position and the other desperately short of action.
There are fears that Kurt Zouma could be sidelined for four weeks after twisting his right ankle in the defeat to Brentford on Sunday afternoon, while left back Aaron Cresswell is suspended after being sent off in the first leg. With Angelo Ogbonna long-term injured, Issa Diop is the only other recognised centre half and he favours playing on the right side. Ben Johnson is the most likely candidate to slot in at left back because it is felt that Arthur Masuaku is more dependable in a five-man system.
Moyes is aware of the defensive imbalance but made a point in his pre-match press conference to stress his confidence in Diop, the French centre back who has completed 90 minutes only three times in the past three months. "Issa's not really let us down,” the manager said. “He's come into the team on different occasions. There was a period when we relied on him. He's always been there or thereabouts, so hopefully if he gets that opportunity, he's able to take it."
