Two changes, striker experiment – Predicted West Ham XI to beat Fulham on Potter’s London Stadium bow
West Ham were much improved in Graham Potter‘s first game in charge against Aston Villa last week.
Despite losing the game 2-1, it was a combination of injuries to key players and controversial refereeing decisions that contributed to the defeat, not the performance.
There is a great deal of optimism and excitement for what Potter might be able to achieve in east London as a result. Even if it may still be so early in his London Stadium reign, the early signs have certainly been encouraging.
With the cup exit behind us, all attention is now on how Potter can transform West Ham’s league form. The next two games, home London derbies against Fulham and Crystal Palace, are crucial.
Not just for climbing up the Premier League table but also for the fans to see that Potter was the right man to replace Julen Lopetegui last week.
At this early stage, it will still be more about the performances than the results. We know Potter is a project manager who needs time and he’s also having to work with another manager’s squad with several injuries to key attacking players.
If performances are good and there are green shoots of progress visible, that’s all that matters at the moment.
Potter’s next test is on Tuesday night against Fulham, in his first home game since taking the job.
Given the injuries to Niclas Fullkrug and Crysencio Summerville on Friday night, it’s even harder to know how he will approach this one.
He did confirm that Summerville is touch and go to be fit in time to make this game, while it was confirmed earlier this week that Fullkrug is sidelined for a number of weeks.
With that in mind, and while remaining optimistic that Summerville will pass his late fitness test, here’s how I think Potter will approach Tuesday night’s London derby.
Two changes from the XI that started against Aston Villa last week, with Emerson coming in for Ollie Scarles and Carlos Soler replacing Fullkrug.
Potter hinted after the Villa game that Mohammed Kudus is in his thoughts as a potential short-term striker option, so I think he will opt to use Kudus as the striker this time around.
Danny Ings is the only recognised striker in the squad who is available but he showed against Villa that he is becoming less and less effective every time he plays.
Soler could then be used as a No.10 behind Kudus, adding some creativity in the midfield but also providing some help defensively out of possession.
Like last week’s prediction, this one could be miles off, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if Potter sticks to the formation that worked against Villa and just shuffles his pack a little bit in order to fill the gaps left by injuries.
What do you think?