West Ham United’s chance to go top of the Championship slipped away against Southampton last weekend. They get another shot at a promotion rival tomorrow, when West Bromwich Albion visit the London Stadium for a 3 pm kick-off. Nuno Espírito Santo’s pre-match press conference mixed relief over Jarrod Bowen with a fresh set of worries at the back.
The biggest concern was the captain. Bowen twisted his ankle in training this week, but Nuno confirmed he trained with the group and should be involved tomorrow. “He seems OK,” Nuno said. Bowen has started all 12 of West Ham’s Championship games so far, and the club will not want that run to end now.
Konstantinos Mavropanos, who has been a goal threat from set pieces, is the main defensive absentee. Nuno said his knee injury is less serious than the club first feared. Nuno was cautious on the timeline, but he took encouragement from the fact that the defender was out on the grass working alone. He called Mavropanos “a very important player for us”. That sounds like a short layoff rather than a long one, but Nuno did not give a return date, and Mavropanos will be out tomorrow.
Nuno confirmed that Joel Veltman and Keiber Lamadrid are doubts alongside Mavropanos. Veltman missed the Southampton defeat with a minor injury and had been expected back for this game, so another setback is unwelcome. Nuno said all three still need evaluating before a decision on selection.
There was one positive note. Midfielder Mohamadou Kante appears to have avoided a feared setback.
FASTER STARTS
The message Nuno has repeated for weeks was there again. “We know we need to start games better,” he said. It follows a Southampton game in which West Ham were two goals down inside eleven minutes. The Hammers have played from behind too often, and that pattern is a problem Nuno wants fixed.
West Brom are not an easy side to face. Rookie manager James Morrison has the Baggies fifth, one point and two places behind West Ham, so the result matters in the table. West Brom have a weakness of their own. They have gone behind eight times in 12 league games, yet they have recovered from those situations well. West Ham will want the early goal that they failed to get against Southampton, and they will want to avoid conceding first. With a weakened back line, that may be easier said than done.
For a side with promotion ambitions, the margin for error is shrinking. Nuno’s team has the attacking quality to hurt anyone in this division. Whether they can stay solid enough at the other end will decide tomorrow.
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