da leao： Neither West Ham nor Sunderland have enjoyed the starts to the season many anticipated at the end of last term.
da betano casino： Indeed, the move to the London Stadium was meant to usher in a new era for the Hammers, whilst Sam Allardyce was seen as the perfect candidate to rescue the Black Cats from their endless cycle of last-minute aversion from relegation to the Championship.
But eight games in, with a new stadium and new manager respectively, West Ham and Sunderland find themselves in 15th place and bottom place – separated by just five points.
Perhaps it’s a little too early in the season to call it, but Saturday’s 3pm meet in East London is on the border of being a relegation clash – neither side can afford to lose.
With that in mind, this weekend’s game looks set to be a close-knit affair that could well be decided by which team dominates the key individual battles.
Physio vs Physio
Sunderland and West Ham both enter Saturday’s match with epic injury lists. Indeed, they currently rank first and second respectively throughout the Premier League in terms of injuries, with the Black Cats missing eight players and the Hammers seven.
That creates a few selection dilemmas for David Moyes and Slaven Bilic, who may have to accept square pegs in round holes just to put half-decent XIs out. But there will be equal pressure on the rival physios; if someone goes down with a complaint, they’ll be pulling out all the stops to get them back on their feet simply due to the lack of fit replacements.
Michail Antonio vs Duncan Watmore
Unlike the rest of the key battles in this gallery, Michail Antonio and Duncan Watmore won’t be directly facing each other on Saturday. However, both right wingers are confronted by the same situation – namely, the opposition being without their first-choice left-back. Patrick van Aanholt is stuck in the physio room, whilst Arthur Masuaku is amid a lengthy injury-layoff and Aaron Cresswell’s suspended after picking up two yellow cards against Crystal Palace last week.
Therefore, this battle comes down to who can take advantage most to help their side to victory. Logic suggests Antonio; he’s scored five goals in eight appearances this season and will likely be up against right-footed stand-in Billy Jones. That being said, the ageing legs of Cresswell’s likeliest replacement Alvaro Arebloa might struggle to keep up with a young, energetic and incredibly enthusiastic Duncan Watmore.
Simone Zaza vs Papy Djilbodji
It’s safe to say, Simone Zaza’s endured a troubled start to his West Ham career, failing to find the net in five Premier League appearances and producing just one shot on target in that time period. But there has been some improvement to his abject displays in recent weeks and against an injury-stricken Sunderland defence, he really should find his first Premier League goal on Saturday.
Especially considering he’ll be up against Papy Djilbodji and John O’Shea in the absence of Lamine Kone. Without meaning to sound disrespectful, it’s quite clear the former Chelsea defender just isn’t of the standard to keep Sunderland in the top flight. But maybe he’ll prove us wrong against the Hammers.
Cheikhou Kouyate vs Didier N’Dong
Two central midfielders with similar box-to-box roles for their respective sides. Indeed, Didier N’Dong was acquired during the summer to add some physicality and energy to Sunderland’s midfield and Cheikhou Kouyate provides a similar kind of service for West Ham, offering athletic intimidation alongside Mark Noble.
Neither midfielder have exactly enjoyed the best of form this season but on paper at least, Kouyate is the much stronger candidate to come out on top in this battle. He was fantastic for the Hammers during his first two seasons and it seems inevitable he’ll return to that level of form in the coming weeks.
Jermain Defoe vs Winston Reid
Jermain Defoe always enjoys scoring against his former employers. In fact, there are only seven clubs the Sunderland striker has netted against more than West Ham, with six goals (and two assists) in 15 outings. And the veteran poacher has been in decent form once again this season, bagging four goals in eight Premier League appearances despite Sunderland’s overall inability to create consistently in the final third.
As West Ham’s most reliable defender, the task of keeping a leash on Defoe will predominately fall to Winston Reid, one of the Irons’ few decent performers in the opening weeks of the season. But Defoe’s such a natural goalscorer he only needs a quarter of a yard inside the box, so it’s equally important West Ham stop the supply lines to the 34-year-old.
Dimitri Payet vs Sunderland
To call West Ham a one-man team would be unfair but there’s no doubt attacking midfield talisman Dimitri Payet is their likeliest source of a win on Saturday. Indeed, despite the Hammers’ struggles this season, he’s still amassed one goal and three assists in five Premier League starts – claiming two Man of the Match awards in the process.
Facing a Sunderland side that’s already conceded 15 goals this season and is now further weakened by injury, the Frenchman should have a field day at the London Stadium this weekend.
That’s by no means a guarantee but the real problem for the Black Cats is working out how to stop the midfield maestro; he takes up a free role just behind the striker and will float around continuously throughout the ninety minutes. The task of nullifying his threat can’t fall to one man – it has to be a joint effort from the whole team.