West Ham United travel to west London to take on Brentford in the Premier League this afternoon.
Julen Lopetegui desperately needs a positive result in the Brentford vs West Ham clash today, in order to quieten down the naysayers.
The Bees are two places and two points clear of the Hammers in the Premier League table right now, so a win would see us leap-frog our London rivals in the table.
Lopetegui is really feeling the heat at the London Stadium right now, and it has actually been claimed that the Spaniard’s job is at risk.
I really think Lopetegui needs to be given time to get things right at West Ham. Genuine progress never, ever, happens overnight.
The Hammers fans need to support the head coach right now. However, that doesn’t mean that he’s immune from criticism.
It would be great if we started to see some patterns of play and a real footballing identity emerge.
Lopetegui will hopefully get his players firing away at Brentford today, and the Spaniard has a very big call to make as far as I’m concerned.
Lopetegui must start West Ham’s worst player this season vs Brentford
The Hammers need to get a result this afternoon, it really is as simple as that.
And in order to do that, Lopetegui has to think outside the box in my opinion.
Michail Antonio has been absolutely dreadful for West Ham so far this season, there is no denying that fact.
I actually think the Hammers made a big mistake by not selling Antonio in the summer, but now Lopetegui might just need to use him.
One quality that Antonio possesses in abundance is strength, and that will be needed in spades today.
With Niclas Fullkrug likely to miss today’s game, the 34-year-old has to start for the Hammers for one very simple reason.
Brentford will probably line up with the extremely combative trio of Ethan Pinnock, Nathan Collins and Sepp van den Berg in the heart of their backline.
The Hammers need a proper physical presence through the middle this afternoon, and the former Nottingham Forest forward could be just the man for the job.
Michail Antonio the man for Brentford challenge
If Jarrod Bowen plays through the middle, he will get swallowed up physically by those three players.
Antonio may well have to start up front in order to keep the Brentford backline occupied, from a physical aspect at least.
If the Jamaica international can put himself about, it will open up some space for the likes of Bowen, Mohammed Kudus, Crysencio Summerville and Lucas Paqueta to flourish.
The only problem with Antonio starting will mean that one of Summerville or Paqueta will have to miss out.
Personally, I think the Brazilian should sit this one out, he’s been poor this season and dropping Summerville would be an extremely harsh call.
Today’s Premier League clash with Brentford is a must not lose for West Ham. A win would be a huge boost for everyone though, and in order to get that, I really feel like Lopetegui needs to start Antonio through the middle, as poor as he undoubtedly has been this season.
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