West Ham are looking to land on their feet heading into Saturdays meeting at the Olympic Stadium with newly promoted Sheffield United, after suffering back-to-back defeats in the league for the first time since April.
Out Of Form
A series of defensive errors and some questionable goalkeeping saw the Hammers slump to a 2-0 loss against an out-of-form Everton side last weekend, sending them down to 11th in the league following a 2-1 loss to Crystal Palace the week prior.
After a bright start to the season, Manuel Pellegrini’s men have struggled to find form of late with three losses, three draws and three wins this campaign, after being expected to challenge for a European spot by fans and pundits.
A win could prove to be of high importance to the Hammers heading into the busy Winter period, when the league starts taking its shape for the rest of the year.
Defying Expectations
The Blades on the other hand head into the clash full of confidence after a 1-0 victory against Arsenal on Monday night, meaning they have lost just one of their last four games, said loss coming at the hands of league leaders Liverpool in what was a tightly contested affair.
After last years unlikely Championship winning season, Chris Wilder has got his side playing attractive attacking football whilst maintaining a rigid defensive shape and has so far defied critics who tipped Sheffield to be amongst the teams at the basement of the league.
The South Yorkshire outfit’s form has seen them climb up to 9th in the table, level on points with the Hammers.
A win for either side could see them move up to 5th place.
Team News
West Ham are without shot stopper Lukasz Fabianski who is out until next year following surgery from a hip injury. Defender Winston Reid and forward Michail Antonio will also sit out the game through injury.
Sheffield United’s record signing Oli Mcburnie is still struggling for fitness after pulling out of the Scotland squad last week with a knee injury. David McGoldrick and John Fleck made their full returns on Monday and are expected to feature in this weekend’s game.
