West Ham United have endured a squalid opening to 2020, coinciding with their change of management from Manuel Pellegrini to David Moyes. Since the turn of the year no other Premier League side has collected fewer points than the Hammers’ five from their seven games. Their current winless run of five games without a victory could be extended this evening, unless they can pull off an unlikely shock and defeat league leaders Liverpool. Moyes must use one of his January arrivals as an inspiration to others, in order to overcome the Merseyside goliath.
Moyes said of Tomas Soucek, who arrived on loan from Slavia Prague in January: “Tomas, we believe, ran more the other night than any West Ham player has run for five or six years. Which you have to say for someone who has just arrived at the club is an incredible stat.” The 25 cap Czech Republic international ran 13km in the defeat to Manchester City, but it did not prevent the Hammers from ending the game in a 2-0 loss, without a shot on target.
Moyes’ sides lack of ambition against the reigning Premier League champions was labelled as embarrassing and leaving them with nothing to build upon. However, Soucek’s individual performance should inspire his teammates. Against Pep Guardiola’s side, the Hammers had a meagre 23 per cent possession, and when they play Liverpool this evening, that will have to be improved if they are to get anything out of the encounter. The first way to go about doing so is to press the opposition, taking encouragement from Soucek’s display against the Cityzens.
Atletico Madrid and Napoli have proven in the Champions League this season that Liverpool are not the impenetrable force which they may at first appear, considering their domestic form alone, as the Reds are just six matches short of Arsenal’s 49 game unbeaten run record. While West Ham do not have the same notorious level of defensive discipline as the Spanish side, their performance is the blueprint for overcoming the Reds. It will require a team effort equal to Soucek’s heroics against Manchester City for Moyes to upset the odds against the Premier League’s only remaining undefeated side.
