Back: Angelo Ogbonna
(Picture: Action Images via Reuters)The clouds are clearing at West Ham, and nothing sums up the change in fortunes more than David Moyes’s options at centre-back.
It was a problem area for the Scot at the start of the season, with Angelo Ogbonna, Craig Dawson and Nayef Aguerd all out injured, and it was left to full-back Ben Johnson to fill in alongside Kurt Zouma.
Dawson and Ogbonna are both back fit now, and the return of the latter is a major boost for West Ham as they look to fight on two fronts. The Hammers were doing exactly that last season, flying high in both Europe and the Premier League, before they were rocked by a serious knee injury to Ogbonna in November.
Moyes said: “At the time when we lost Angelo [to injury] last season, we were in the top two or three in the league. Angelo was in great form playing alongside Kurt and probably, if we’re honest, we were maybe in our best form in that period.
“It was maybe once we lost Angelo that it started to dip a little bit in certain ways. He gave us left-sided balance at the time and it just didn’t feel quite as good after.”
Ogbonna has largely been using the Europa Conference League to get back to full fitness this season and he is expected to start tonight at the London Stadium against Anderlecht.
The Hammers have turned things around after a shaky start to the season, which was not helped by injuries and new signings taking time to bed in, and they have won five of their last six games in all competitions.
Another victory tonight would see them qualify for the knockout stage of the Europa Conference League and they would secure top spot, and a bye to the last-16, if they win and Silkeborg fail to beat FCSB in the other game in Group B.
“We want to qualify first and foremost, but even better than that would be to win the group, because it would knock a couple of games off,” said Moyes.
“It really would [be beneficial]. The week after next we’ve got a game Monday, Thursday and then Sunday, which sounds incredibly ridiculous, but that’s the way the fixture list has got it.
“Ideally, if we win the group it would be great, but like I’ve said before, if we can qualify for Europe after Christmas again, then that would be a decent thing done.”
