West Ham face Nottingham Forest at the London Stadium in the battle for Premier League survival.
Victory would lift West Ham out of the relegation zone, whilst Forest can go 12th with a win with Crystal Palace not in action until Saturday evening.
Team News
Lucas Paqueta could return for West Ham if he is declared match fit as he nears a return from a shoulder injury, which kept him out of their defeat at Tottenham last weekend.
Kurt Zouma (quad) could return but Maxwel Cornet (calf) remains absent.
Forest could welcome Ryan Yates back after a month out due to illness.
Jesse Lingard (knee) is a doubt and could face a late fitness test.
Dean Henderson (muscle), Serge Aurier (calf), Giulian Biancone (knee), Omar Richards (leg), Moussa Niakhate (thigh), Willy Boly, Scott McKenna, Cheikhou Kouyate (all hamstring) and Taiwo Awoniyi (groin) remain absent.
When is Kick-Off?
West Ham host Nottingham Forest at the London Stadium in a 3pm GMT kick-off on Saturday 25 February, albeit untelevised in UK.
Stat Attack
- West Ham have won three of their last five league meetings against Forest (W3, L2).
- Forest are visiting the London Stadium for the very first time but have won just one of their last five league visits to the Hammers (W1, D1, L3).
- Both West Ham and Forest have scored in each of their last six meetings in all competitions in East London.
- Tomas Soucek has produced more defensive blocks in the league this season than any other West Ham player (14).
- Four of Brennan Johnson’s five league goals for Forest have been scored on his right foot.
Prediction
Sat firmly in the relegation zone and struggling for consistency, West Ham really need to start finding some form especially after wasteful end product cost them a result at Spurs despite their excellent attacking play in terms of passes.
The Hammers’ defence however simply left too much space at the back which were superbly punished to maximum effect, which is something that they can’t really repeat here against a team like Forest who have lost just one league game this year.
Forest though weren’t expected to get anything out of their game against Manchester City last weekend, yet were clinical up front amidst fantastic stubborn defending and Keylor Navas does look like a nightmare goalkeeper for oppositional attack to handle currently.
I though am backing Forest to get the win because they should be back to their attacking best against much weaker opposition, which could suit them if West Ham continue to be sloppy defensively but the Hammers could be a threat if can sort out their final touch.
Prediction: West Ham 1-2 Nottingham Forest
Result: West Ham 4-0 Nottingham Forest
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