Back-to-back defeats against Wolves and Tottenham since the restart put West Ham in a terrible position. The Irons could well have dropped down to the bottom three but, thankfully for them, the teams below have had an awful start as well.
West Ham desperately needed points on the board but not many people gave them a chance against high-flying Chelsea. However, David Moyes’ side were brilliant against the Blues and picked up all three points in the London derby earlier this week.
The Hammers now have a relatively easier run of fixtures. West Ham take on Newcastle on Sunday before games against Watford, Burnley and Norwich City.
Moyes would like to get his side to safety before they face Manchester United in their penultimate game of the season. The Hammers boss faced the media ahead of Sunday’s game and he had both good and bad news to deliver on the injury front.
He was quoted by the club’s official website saying: “They’re all (Sebastien Haller, Mark Noble and Arthur Masuaku) on the grass and doing training. I’m hoping to have some of them back but we’ll know more tomorrow.
“We’ve got a slight injury to Felipe Anderson, who overstretched in the warm-up on Wednesday night.”
Having at least two of Haller, Noble and Masuaku back will give West Ham a huge boost ahead of the final few games of the season.
The Hammers have been overly-reliant on Michail Antonio up front. Haller’s return will be a welcome addition to the squad and the Frenchman has the quality to help West Ham stay out of trouble.
Losing Anderson is a blow for Moyes’ side. Yes, the Brazilian hasn’t had the best of seasons, but he is one of those players who has the quality to change the course of a game in a matter of minutes.
With games coming thick and fast, Moyes will want all his players available. Three of them are likely to be back this weekend and West Ham fans will be hoping that Anderson doesn’t take too long to return either.
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