West Ham vs Leeds United – Preview, Lineups, Key Men And Score Prediction | OneFootball

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West Ham United take on Leeds United at the London Stadium in a last-ditch effort to cling on to their Premier League status.

Matchweek 38. Premier League curtain call. When the fixture list was released last summer, the West Ham vs Leeds clash might have immediately been penciled in as one to watch for a potential relegation tussle. Those predicting such an outcome have been proven right, but even they would have surely got the identity of the relegation contenders wrong.

Leeds, for all their Championship domination, would not have been expected to buck the trend of promoted teams going straight back down, at least not as comfortably as they have done. Instead, the Whites are 14th, exactly where the Hammers were once the dust had settled on the previous campaign, above last season’s wonders like Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace, and only 12 points behind Liverpool, who have just relinquished their title to Arsenal.

Daniel Farke, having twice failed with Norwich City in the Premier League after achieving promotion, would have cornered all the plaudits for the job he has done since the second half of the Manchester City game in November, but the German is unlikely to begrudge having to share some of the acclaim with Regis Le Bris at Sunderland.

The manager might understandably be too tired to have to put himself through the mental gymnastics required to motivate his side for a dead-rubber and could forgive his side for finally taking the foot off the pedal, giving West Ham a fighting chance.

West Ham, merely three years removed from becoming the Conference League winners, have dropped like a stone, with each ill-advised decision compounding their struggles. During an era in which almost every top side can count themselves as having an edge, through financial backing, or proprietary data, the Hammers can only be viewed as a relic from the past, their decision making anachronistic to put it mildly.

The parallels between this season and their previous couple of relegation campaigns, in 2003 and 2011, are telling. A couple of years after winning the Intertoto Cup, Harry Redknapp was fired in 2001, causing his assistant Frank Lampard to depart with him, and necessitating the sale of his son Frank Lampard Jr, a year after Rio Ferdinand was sold, leading up to the relegation in 2003.

In 2011, the decision to replace Gianfranco Zola with Avram Grant proved to backfire spectacularly, with the men being chalk-and-cheese in terms of personality, while David Gold, David Sullivan and Karren Brady bungled their attempt to recruit Martin O’Neill in January through their shenanigans in the media. The players then were left confused with Grant’s tactics, with some taking the chance to slacken on their discipline. The switch to Nuno Espirito Santo from Graham Potter, who are poles apart in philosophy and tactics, might have had a similar effect this season, with the Hammers losing 20 points from winning positions as compared to 22 under Grant.

A win alone would not be sufficient for West Ham, and they now need David Moyes, a manager they twice refused to extend at the club, to do them a favour. Spurs, with their 12-goal advantage in goal difference, can in all likelihood, escape with a draw against an Everton side who are winless since March. That though does not exculpate the West Ham board, with Moyes having had his side challenge for Europe for most of the campaign. If Spurs go down, they can point towards the injuries and having made a misjudgment with their analytics, with suggestions being that the side has a preponderance of athletes due to a proclivity to running stats, rather than outright neglect in that department.

Former Hammers chairman Terry Brown mused that, perhaps it was just their turn when West Ham went down in 2003 with a squad containing David James, Glen Johnson, Joe Cole, Michael Carrick, Jermain Defoe, Trevor Sinclair, Freddie Kanoute and Paolo Di Canio. West Ham fans will hope that this season, perhaps it is just destined to be Tottenham’s turn.

Predicted Lineups

Predicted lineups

Recent Form (league)

West Ham United: LLLWD

Leeds United: WDWDW

Key Men

West Ham United

Mateus Fernandes has been left out of the Portugal squad by Roberto Martinez, despite the Spaniard claiming that he was impressed with the midfielder’s form in March. Fernandes is being linked with a summer move and he might want to do his best to help keep his current side up before switching sides for the third consecutive summer.

Jarrod Bowen has assisted eight of his side’s last 12 goals, and ten overall, in the league with only Di Canio on 13, Dimitri Payet on 12 and Eyal Berkovic on 11 leading him on a per-season basis. The captain might possibly need to surpass Berkovic and even Payet if the Hammers are to avoid the drop.

Taty Castellanos will need to finish off even the half-chances, with possible support off the bench from Callum Wilson and Pablo, if nerves are to ease somewhat at the London Stadium. Castellanos’ potential goalscoring might make him a cult hero, or at the very least resign the Hammers to the thought that they have given it everything they had.

Leeds United

Dominic Calvert-Lewin missed out on a spot in the England World Cup squad and scoring more goals now would be the perfect response to Thomas Tuchel.

Noah Okafor will want to celebrate his birthday, and his World Cup selection, with a strong performance for Leeds, possibly coming off the bench.

Brenden Aaronson has impressed Farke this season and, ahead of a home World Cup, will want to maintain his form.

Match Prediction

The equations are simple; West Ham need to get into a winning position, and stay there. In a season dominated by set-pieces and refereeing decisions, Nuno would be wise to avoid those two like the plague as much as possible. While the result against Arsenal might be considered unfortunate, he has no one but himself to blame for the loss against Newcastle United, and Nuno will want to be more proactive and attacking from the off.

If Leeds do the double against the Hammers, it will be the first time since the 2002/03 season, when West Ham went down with the record points tally of 42 points. The Whites have also won their most away games, seven, at West Ham.

Nuno will desperately want and need to take the game to Leeds, with Farke also preferring a pragmatic approach, and unlikely to open up his side with an expansive approach.

If Spurs race into a lead in their match in the first half, shoulders could sag, and it could get ugly for the Hammers on the pitch, and in the stands, quickly. There remains a large probability that West Ham win, but with the victory counting for nothing.

In the event that their former manager does them a favour, and their side are on hand to take advantage, questions will remain of the ownership, the manager and the players, with major surgery required if this season is to remain a blip.

Inside Futbol Score Prediction

West Ham United 2-1 Leeds United

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