West Ham travel to Watford on Sunday, with the Hammers sitting in the relegation zone. With the international break taking place, this gives the side an extra week to prepare as a few high-profile players were overlooked from the England squad.
Players such as Andy Carroll, Aaron Cresswell and captain Mark Noble were all ignored by England manager Gareth Southgate and will be disappointed not to join their teammate Joe Hart.
The clash with Watford will give new manager David Moyes his first chance to impress owners David Sullivan and David Gold. Moyes told the official club website that he is confident and “is not frightened by the expectations” set by the board.
Full strength
Moyes will be looking to get the side’s first win in four games, which is going to be a difficult task with Watford sitting in ninth place and in good form after recently beating Arsenal. With James Collins and Jose Fonte the only noticeable absentees, the East London side have an almost full-strength squad.
The Scotsman will be looking to fully utilise Mexican striker Javier Hernandez who was brought into the side by ex-manager Slaven Bilic and has so far under-performed by his standards. Moyes also managed Hernandez at Manchester United and only played him five times in the season that they worked together.
Mexico manager Juan Carlos Orsorio says that the arrival of Moyes will not be a problem for Hernandez who understands that “it is a new club and a new relationship.”
Watford blew a 2-0 lead against Everton in their most recent match so West Ham and especially Hernandez will see a vulnerability to capitalise on when the Premier League returns to action.