Forget the Boxing Day defeat at Arsenal… West Ham United have the perfect four-match Premier League run to get their season back on track.
The Hammers, despite spending £160m in the summer transfer window on eight new signings, sit 16th in the table, a point clear of the relegation zone and off the back of a disappointing 3-1 loss at the Emirates Stadium on Monday night.
Losing by two goals away at a side who are well clear at the top of the league table is hardly a crime. Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool have both left empty handed this season. The manner however, is probably a metaphor for the season so far. Arsenal had not dropped a point at home all season and were still trailing with less than 40 minutes to go, but three goals in 16 second half minutes took them from in danger of slipping up, to inflicting West Ham’s joint-heaviest league defeat on them this season.
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Realistically though, when the fixture list was released back in June, the run after the trip to the Emirates Stadium was always going to be a golden opportunity for the Hammers to pick up points, regardless of how their campaign up to then had gone.
First up is a home clash against Brentford (tenth) on Friday night. While the Bees have been in good nick this season and beat West Ham home and away last term, have struggled on the road this season, picking up one away league win, like the Hammers.
Brentford have confidence after following up their shock win against Manchester City before the World Cup break with a 2-2 draw against Tottenham Hotspur on Boxing Day. They also have the luxury of owning one of the league’s top scorers in Ivan Toney, but they have conceded on average 2.25 goals away from home per league match.
The Hammers then start 2023 with a trip to Leeds United (January 4) to start a run of three games against sides who, like West Ham, are in the bottom six. Leeds have been riddled with injuries and suspensions all season, suffering their eighth league loss of the campaign.
The Whites missed a number of key players for their defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday night and many of those could still be absent for when the Hammers visit.
Following a FA Cup trip to Brentford, West Ham will wait ten days between league matches before heading to the west midlands to face Wolverhampton Wanderers (January 14). Wolves, now with Julien Lopetegui at the helm, will be boosted by their win at Everton on Boxing Day, but they do sit in the bottom three at present and are the division’s lowest scorers with ten, just three fewer than the Hammers.
West Ham end their run of January league fixtures a week later at home to 17th placed Everton (January 21) and will be out for revenge against Moyes’ former side, who beat the Hammers 1-0 during a dull affair at Goodison Park in September. Again, like West Ham, they are in a cluster of sides who have just one away league win all season, and Moyes’ men must pray on that weakness.
So far, the Hammers have averaged 0.88 points per game this season, which over a whole campaign equates to just 33 points. Last season, just two teams finished on worse tallies than that.
For many reasons, this run has to be a successful one. Defeats are simply not an option and out of a possible 12 points, eight has been to be aimed for as the absolute minimum. It would take the Hammers to 22 points from 20 games, which while still off track, is a much better total than what they currently have.
This time last season after 20 games, West Ham had 28 points, double what they currently have, and were sat in the Champions League places in the table. This season, the Championship has looked more likely based on current form.
For Moyes’ future, a good run this month is needed, especially considering February consists of consecutive meetings with Newcastle United, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur, three sides whose dreams of European football next season are actually realistic, unlike West Ham’s.
Considering the growing pressure on Moyes, you would have to think that a run of form more reminiscent of the two previous seasons is needed to get the campaign back on track. From there, confidence can be taken into a very tough February, as well as the hope of actually getting any points from that tricky trio.
With ten defeats from 16 games, it is no wonder supporters are currently desperate for a result of some form and the next four league games could well be as good of an opportunity as they are ever going to get.
If any of the next four games end disappointingly, you do wonder what can actually be achieved from West Ham’s players between January and May of 2023.
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