West Ham have made a blistering start to the 2022/23 Premier League, finishing sixth with 10 points from a possible 15. As a result, the Hammers’ fans are dreaming of going all the way this season in domestic competitions as well as in the Europa League.
West Ham, a needed rebuild after the transfer window:
Despite winning the Conference League title last season, the London side have suffered the loss of key players in the summer transfer window.
The most high-profile departure was that of star player Declan Rice, who left David Moyes‘ midfield in tatters. Even so, the club has received a large sum of money for his sale to Arsenal (around 130 million euros). In addition to the England international, other no less important departures include Scamacca, Vlasic and Lanzini.
Despite all this, West Ham have been able to bounce back and put together a very competitive team, mixing veteran players with high calibre new additions.
In these first few league games, we have seen how Moyes has opted for a 4-2-3-1 formation, giving the reins to newcomer Ward-Prowse, who is demonstrating in his new team the tremendous quality and ball skills he possesses. Alongside him, the veteran Soucek alternates with new addition Edson Álvarez to do the dirty work in midfield.
In front of this double pivot, Lucas Paquetá seems to have finally exploded this season after a somewhat discreet first year at the club. Michael Antonio continues to play up front, with his characteristic fighting spirit. On the wings, Benrahma and Bowen continue to be at the forefront, distributing assists and converting the chances that come their way.
In the back line, Zouma and Aguerd are undisputed alongside the two daggers on the wing, Coufal and Emerson. The keeper of the goal remains Frenchman Areola, who has been proving to be a very reliable goalkeeper for several seasons now.
A big difference that is being seen at the start of the season compared to other years is the depth of the bench. Currently, the English coach has more than notable repulsive players on his bench. Fornals, Ings or the recently signed Kudus are more than effective replacements to unblock games.
West Ham, a very positive start into the new Premier League season:
At the start of the Premier League, we have seen how the London side have easily beaten top level teams such as Chelsea and Brighton (3-1 wins in each game), proving that they are capable of competing with any rival, no matter how big they are.
After a first draw against Bournemouth on the opening day of the season, West Ham had won three in a row. A positive run that ended with the defeat against Manchester City this past weekend.
Still, they will be hoping to get back to winning ways in their Europa League clash against Serbian side FK TSC next Thursday, a European competition they return to after winning the Conference League and will be looking to repeat the feat of two seasons ago when they reached the semi-finals.
At the Olympic Stadium in London they are dreaming big and with good reason, after this start to the season that has excited their fans and left expectations very high at the start of the campaign.
Only time will tell how far Moyes’ boys are capable of going.
Translated by Marcos Rodríguez.
Main image: @WestHam.
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