West Ham v Leeds, Sunday 21st May, 1.30pm

buffybegood

So excited by our win against AZ that I nearly forgot I had to start this thread 😊.

Our final home game of the season, against dirty Leeds, managed by old "cupping his ear to his own fans" Sam Allardyce.

As things stand we're not quite mathematically safe if we ship a load of goals to Leeds, but if Everton fail to beat Wolves on Saturday, we will be. Also on Saturday, should Forest lose to Arsenal then they'd only be able to catch us with a 19 goal swing in their favour from our last two games and their final game away to Palace, so hopefully we'll be going into the game full of confidence after reaching the ECL final, and with absolutely no relegation worries at all.

Conversely, should Everton win and Forest get at least a point, Leeds will be relegated if we beat them.

COYI ⚒⚒⚒

IronHerb

Full strength.

Kuchinghammer

Fornals and Areola. They both need game time before The Final. Aside from that,I'm not massively bothered

alderz

I think we need a little bit of rotation here. Last night was a big effort, and very emotional. We see so often in football that teams that have a massive result one game then often experience a crash in the next game. I think our 'best' XI for this game isn't the same as our 'best' XI on paper.

Fabianski; Kehrer Zouma Ogbonna Emerson; Soucek Rice; Bowen Fornals Cornet; Ings

claretandbluesky

Kuchinghammer said:

Fornals and Areola. They both need game time before The Final. Aside from that,I'm not massively bothered

Great Idea, especially for Areola.

claretandbluesky

I bet Sam was happy we won last night and still have a final to be thinking about. Realistically to catch us I think they need be beating us 0-3.

ASLEFshrugged

Leeds will be without Junior Firpo thanks to a red card on 90+1 mins against Newcastle last weekend. Most likely replacement would be Pascal Struijk who has a good sideline as a pantomime villain

Leeds could be a bit "soft in the middle" with MC Tyler Adams out with a thigh injury since March and MC Marc Roca facing a late fitness test on his knee. Against Newcastle they resorted to playing CB Robin Koch as a makeshift defensive midfielder

Columbian LW/RW Luis Sinisterra is also out with a ankle but he's been a bit of a sick note since he joined in the summer from Feyenoord

IronHerb

claretandbluesky said:

I bet Sam was happy we won last night and still have a final to be thinking about. Realistically to catch us I think they need be beating us 0-3.

I disagree. I reckon he wanted us to lose so we'd be down but now we're on a high.

steve

Rice has to play some part ,could be his last home game

Yeoldhammer

Fabianski

Coufal Aguerd Zouma Emerson

Rice Soucek Fornals

Bowen Ings Cornet

jay_in_cpt

Fabianski

Coufal Aguerd Ogbonna Emerson

Rice Soucek Paqueta

Bowen Ings Fornals

carsonroadboy

I agree with that team. Have Antonio come on with his newly regained speed against a tiring defence if we need a goal.

steve

Not sure Antonio will be anywhere near the match day squad ,after limping off last night .unless he was fooling the ref and wasting time

buffybegood

steve said:

Not sure Antonio will be anywhere near the match day squad ,after limping off last night .unless he was fooling the ref and wasting time

Whilst I think there was an element of time-wasting, Antonio has had a few niggles recently, and, like the rest of us, he's not getting and younger. I don't see him starting, and, as at Brentford last weekend, I wouldn't be surprised if he's omitted from the squad for this match.

ASLEFshrugged

Give Antonio's hamstrings a rest and let Ings have a go.

Leeds still top of the Premier League for fouls per game (12.4) and 2nd worst away record PL 18 W2 D3 L13 (Forest worse)

steve

I would love Mubama to get a start ,what better game could there be for him

ASLEFshrugged

Ings has only had 7 starts in the 20 games we've played since he joined, if one of the kids got a start instead of him he'd probably demand a transfer

Why upset the only other first team striker we have?

Fortuneseeker

ASLEF, We could play both Ings and Mubama together up front, that could be an interesting option.

OutcastLondoner

ASLEFshrugged said:

Ings has only had 7 starts in the 20 games we've played since he joined, if one of the kids got a start instead of him he'd probably demand a transfer

Why upset the only other first team striker we have?

I think he’s mostly been pretty bad when he had played personally. Bad decisions and positioning, which is really not what I expected from him. I feel like he was getting more time earlier and there’s a reason he’s getting fewer minutes now.

So just like Antonio had to face up to the competition when Ings arrived, maybe Ings should know that Mubama is waiting as well.

Hamstew

I wouldn't say he's been bad personally. He isn't played to his strengths. The one time we played him with another striker for 5 minutes (against Brentford) he gets himself involved and scores a very dubiously disallowed goal.

jay_in_cpt

I actually thought Ings in general has looked good when coming on in matches, he is able to hold the ball well and technically is skilled, of course he’s in the most not been played to his main threat, but if the chance is given and he’s played with someone close to him, I think he’s an asset to the team

claretandbluesky

It's a perfect match for Ings to play for 70 and Muamba to have another 20 to continue his introduction.

OutcastLondoner

Fair enough. I think he's hidden, has taken up bad positions and made some really dumb decisions about when to shoot/pass. When we signed him, I thought it was a really good signing and the only worry was whether we would make the chances for him but I think a lot of it is his fault. Not really meaning to be harsh, I'm sure he'll work out, I just think there's plenty of reason to let someone like Mubama have a go.

buffybegood

Big ask for Mubama to start imo, but I'll be disappointed if he doesn't get at least 25 mins on Sunday.

steve

Just think Mubama suits our style of play more then Ings .But with most of the first team mising its a big ask ,so on second thoughts Ings should start

Lukerz

This will be a tough one as it’s almost must-win for Leeds & we’ll be living off yesterdays high, with a rotated squad.

West Ham 0-1 Leeds

ASLEFshrugged

In the press conference this morning BFS claimed he recommended Preston North End sign Moyes as a player in September 1993 except he was caretaker manager from October to November 1992 and went back to being youth team coach when John Beck was appointed. As Beck and Allardyce didn't get on it seems a bit of a boast

Confirms that RB Stuart Dallas (out for a year with a broken femur), CM Tyler Adams and LW/RW Luis Sinisterra are unavailable

CB Liam Cooper (injured his hip against Bournemouth 1st May) is back in training while CM Marc Roca "has got a patellar tendon injury so not too bad injury.”

On Firpo's suspension he says he's thinking about "who do we fit into that position or do we perhaps change the system to a different way of playing"

nychammer66

4-0

claretandbluesky

Would anyone else be happy enough to lose this if it meant both Everton and Leicester go down? Both far more likely to be threats in our matches next season than Leeds or whoever comes up, Burnley aside possibly.

My only aim for this match is to not pick up any injuries.

MrsGrey

Wanna win.

Always want to win.

Don't care about other teams.

We are safe - those who go down are those who, over 38 games, aren't as good as us.

ASLEFshrugged

I never want to lose, I cetainly would not be happy losing to a team as poor as Leeds and having reached the ECL final I want us to win every game until the end of the season