It was the worst possible start to the new Premier League season for West Ham last weekend.
A 3-0 away defeat to newly promoted Sunderland has led to many placing the Hammers as favourites for the drop this season.
That might be a bit premature with 37 games still to play but it’s fair to say optimism is extremely low throughout the fanbase after such a disappointing result.
The defeat came as a result of poor finishing, poor defending and overall a lack of fight.
The Black Cats took their chances and took advantage of some half-hearted defending for the first two goals before catching us on the break for their third.
Aside from that, the overall performance wasn’t the worst we’ve seen from a West Ham team. Tactically, Graham Potter’s side were ok, but a combination of poor finishing and superb goalkeeping prevented us from being out of site by half-time.
The manner of the scoreline has struck immense worry into the hearts of Hammers fans ahead of Friday night’s first home game of the season, against London rivals Chelsea.
The newly crowned Club World Cup champions are being tipped as a potential top-three Premier League club this season, despite only managing a 0-0 draw against Crystal Palace on the opening weekend.
So how can Potter line his side up to try and get something against Enzo Maresca’s side?
One of the big question marks over his starting XI that faced Sunderland was the decision to play Guido Rodriguez in midfield over academy prospect Freddie Potts. Potts impressed during pre-season and did enough to warrant a starting role on the first game of the season.
With that in mind, Potter could decide to play him over the Argentine on Friday night.
Elsewhere, I don’t envisage any other changes to the XI. The back five picks itself, as does the front three, so the only question marks that remain are in the middle.
It’s clear there needs to be at least one midfielder signing before the end of the summer transfer window, because Potter’s central midfield options look scarce, especially now that Edson Alvarez has been allowed to leave on loan.
So it could be a James Ward-Prowse and Potts midfield duo to face Chelsea on Friday night, with the youngster there to help break up play and start attacks.
So, here’s West Ham’s predicted starting XI to face the Blues…
