West Ham United secured a scrappy 1-0 win over TSC in the Europa League in midweek, and it sets them up nicely for their Premier League clash against Crystal Palace this afternoon.
Indeed, a win over the Eagles would mean five successive victories for David Moyes and his team, while he has an ideal chance to secure three points against a Jekyll and Hyde Palace team.
He will surely make a few chances for the clash, especially as the Scot will be keen on keeping his starting XI fresh ahead of a hectic festive season when the fixtures come thick and fast.
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ByJack Salveson Holmes
Despite the European win, not every member of the starting XI shone and there was one player who should be benched for the game today – Said Benrahma.
Said Benrahma’s game vs TSC in numbers
The Algerian started on the left-hand side of a three-man attack, yet he failed to really showcase his true abilities throughout the tie.
He failed with all three of his dribble attempts, while having just one shot on target and delivering zero successful crosses, indicating how poor a display it was on the wing.
Benrahma even lost possession 19 times during his 67 minutes on the field and managed to win just three of his ten ground duels in what was a forgetful performance and Moyes was right to hook him.
He was even given a rating of just 4/10 by the Standard, and they stated that he ‘regularly squandered decent positions’ and it was a poor way to mark his 150th appearance for the club.
Moyes should now ditch him. The question is, who will be his replacement?
Lucas Paqueta could replace Said Benrahma
Lucas Paqueta favours a more central attacking midfield role, yet there have been times during the current season in which Moyes has deployed him out wide.
Across nine appearances on the left side of the midfield, the Brazilian has managed to score just once, yet he has found the back of the net on five occasions in total this term.
With Moyes looking like he will revert to a 4-2-3-1 against Palace today, Paqueta will move from a midfield role to a more attacking position on the left-hand side, and he could certainly offer more of a threat than Benrahma.
In the Premier League, the former Lyon starlet has created four big chances, averages 1.3 key passes per game and has succeeded with 1.8 dribbles per game – a success rate of 72% – and this is clear evidence that points to him being unleashed once again this weekend.
A win would set West Ham up nicely for what promises to be a hectic December, as they play their final group stage match in the Europa League, along with an EFL Cup quarter-final tie against Liverpool.
Moyes will now have a hunger for trophies, having won the Conference League last year, and the Irons might just upset the apple cart again this term.
The one-time Everton boss will wish to put out his strongest team to face Palace and this means Benrahma will drop to the bench, with Paqueta moving to a more advanced role in the process.
