I wasn’t prepared for this. Weekly during the early stages of the season, pundits from Alan Shearer to Paul Merson have lined up to excoriate Lopetegui and predict West Ham losses. What has made it more depressing for me is that they’ve been proven right each time! However in a break from ‘tradition’ our West Ham United team to take on Ipswich Town tomorrow has been forecast to win by two separate ‘TV pundits’!
Paul Merson, as previously mentioned, has favoured the Irons in a 3-1 prediction.
Now the pundit we love to hate, Chris Sutton – who is definitely one of the BCWYWF brigade, has also come out and published his expectation of a West Ham and Julen Lopetegui triumph.
Writing for BBCsport, Sutton starts by complimenting Ipswich :”At this moment in time, they are a better structured team than West Ham. They showed it with the way they finished their draw with Aston Villa last week, and the only downside from the way they have started the season is the fact they don’t have a win yet.”
And then proclaims:“I am going to stick my neck out and say the Hammers will get their act together this time. Basically, I am backing them to produce a performance that they have not managed all season under Julen Lopetegui. They have to really. There was so much made of him taking over from David Moyes, that he really needs a result – West Ham fans are not always the most patient bunch, and they are expecting more than they have seen so far.
In predicting a 2-0 scoreline, Sutton is coming down on the side of the East London side for the first time this season O believe. I’m certainly not bold enough to predict a clean sheet but will bow to his superior knowledge: he doesn’t state in print but I wonder how much is to do with the new defensive pairing of Todibo and Kiloman showing such good promise last week and producing such an upturn in the defensive stats.