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West Ham face an impressive Sunderland side in another must-win game at the London Stadium, as the Hammers continue their fight against relegation.

The fixture comes a week after a massive West Ham win against fellow strugglers and local rivals Tottenham Hotspur. Callum Wilson’s 93rd minute winner against Nuno Espirito Santo’s former side meant that West Ham closed the gap between themselves and 17th placed Nottingham Forest to five points.




A win against Sunderland would hugely increase pressure on Sean Dyche’s side, who also have to deal with European football for the remainder of the season. However, it must be stated how difficult of a fixture this will be for West Ham.

Sunderland have only lost one of their last eight games in all competitions, and see themselves only three points from the top four. In addition to that, the Black Cats will travel to east London with immense confidence after winning the reverse fixture 3-0 on the opening day of the season.

Nuno Espirito Santo confirmed in his press conference on Thursday that Lucas Paqueta will not be part of the matchday squad, while new signing Keiber Lamadrid is not ready to feature for the Hammers yet. However, El Hadji Malick Diouf should be in contention to start after Senegal’s dramatic AFCON victory.

As for Sunderland, both Habib Diarra and Chemsdine Talbi have both returned to training after AFCON and should be ready for Saturday’s trip down south. Despite that, both winger Bertrand Traore and former Hammer Arthur Masuaku will be unavailable due to injury.

One of the big decisions Nuno will be forced to make is whether he will continue playing two up front like he did against Spurs, or move an extra man deeper to deal with Sunderland’s strong midfield.




The impressive trio of Diarra, Granit Xhaka and Noah Sadiki caused Graham Potter’s pairing of James Ward-Prowse and Guido Rodriguez all sorts of problems in August, largely contributing to the Hammers’ second half collapse.

Because of this, bringing Freddie Potts and Soungotou Magassa’s energy back into the team would seem logical. However, it makes equal sense to play a front two for the second week running.

Whether Nuno starts with one or two, whoever starts up front for West Ham will have a difficult but mightily important task for West Ham. Sunderland have conceded 23 goals from 22 games this Premier League season, the third best defensive record in the division.

Pairing with the impressive defensive signings Sunderland have made, manager Regis Le Bris has adopted a flexible system which sees the side from the North East switch between a back five and a 4-4-2 shape in certain games this season.

Despite all of that, West Ham can take confidence in the fact that Sunderland have a rather average away record this Premier League season. The Black Cats have picked up just 10 points on their travels this season, the same as West Ham. Consequently, the Hammers will hope to put the away side on the back foot early, keeping up the momentum from the two wins in the last two weeks.




West Ham’s recent success has been largely down to the impressive form of winger Crysencio Summerville. The Dutchman has picked up two goals and two assists in his last three games, in addition to his goal that was controversially ruled out against Nottingham Forest.

An in-form Summerville will be crucial if West Ham want stay up, however, on Saturday he will face a tough challenge against Trai Hume. The Sunderland full back has been a real positive for the Black Cats this season, with his impressive form meaning he is one of the few Championship squad members who has featured regularly this season.

Another positive for Sunderland this season has been the recent form of striker Brian Brobbey. The £20 million signing has scored twice in his last three starts, while providing a constant threat throughout 90 minutes for Premier League defenders.

His brutal strength and admirable link-up play will be something for the West Ham defence to be wary of. Last weekend, both Jean-Clair Todibo and Konstantinos Mavropanos impressed heavily, but will face a far different, but equally as difficult, challenge against Brobbey.

Todibo’s form in the last couple of months has been impressive despite West Ham’s results. His imposing physical attributes paired with his impressive on-the-ball skills means that when the Frenchman is absent, there are consequential problems within the Hammers’ defence.




Predicted Line-ups

West Ham United: Alphonse Areola; Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Jean-Clair Todibo, Ollie Scarles; Jarrod Bowen, Tomas Soucek, Mateus Fernandes, Crysencio Summerville; Taty Catellanos, Pablo Felipe

Sunderland: Robin Roefs; Trai Hume, Nordi Mukiele, Dan Ballard, Omar Alderete, Reinildo Mandava; Granit Xhaka, Noah Sadiki, Enzo Le Fee; Simon Adingra, Brian Brobbey

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