West Ham can count themselves unlucky after coming away from Anfield with nothing on Wednesday night but the reality is that the Hammers have just nine goals in 11 Premier League games.
Wednesday’s 1-0 defeat against Liverpool was the fifth time this season that Moyes’ side have failed to find the back of the net and they certainly didn’t lack chances against the Reds, with Jarrod Bowen missing a first-half penalty, while Tomas Soucek was somehow denied from close range late on.
Moyes deployed a 4-4-2 formation against Jurgen Klopp’s side but inexplicably left Michail Antonio on the bench, with Bowen featuring as the second striker alongside Gianluca Scamacca.
If the former Hull City man returned to the wing against Bournemouth on Monday night, it would surely represent the perfect opportunity for Moyes to start Antonio alongside Scamacca in attack, something which fans are yet to see this season.
The Scottish manager provided an explanation for why the two haven’t started together earlier in the season but contradicted himself by playing 4-4-2 against Liverpool in midweek.
He said:
“I’m sure that in time, I will look at it. At the moment, to play two strikers, you have to play three at the back. It’s very hard nowadays to necessarily go with a 4-4-2, so to play two strikers is mainly three at the back. We might consider and look at it if we think we’ve got the players.”
Therefore, now that Moyes has shown that West Ham can play in a 4-4-2, surely it is time for Scamacca and Antonio to cause chaos together in attack.
The prospect of the two powerful strikers going up a managerless Bournemouth side, whose unbeaten run under Gary O’Neil came to an end in midweek, will surely terrify the Cherries.
Moyes was full of praise for the former Nottingham Forest man at the start of last season, saying:
“It says a lot about how he started the season because his goals have been excellent for us and his play has been very good.
“He came back in pre-season in good condition and worked very hard during that period. He’s been terrific for us and long may that continue.”
Antonio might have struggled so far this season, with just two goals and one assist in 11 domestic games, but the 32-year-old is West Ham’s top scorer in Premier League history for a reason and surely he can be a big help as they look to turn their poor start to the season around on Monday night.
He could be the man to give the Cherries a fright this weekend.
from FootballFanCast.com https://ift.tt/TZfb0oB
via IFTTT