David Moyes’ West Ham United side head into Saturday’s Premier League clash against Newcastle United in something of a patchy run of form, having won two, lost two and drawn one of their last five league outings.
However, with the Hammers’ last two results being a battling 1-0 win over a resilient Watford side and a 2-2 draw against Leicester City, the 58-year-old manager will be hopeful that his side have turned a corner in recent weeks, and that they can continue this upward trend when the relegation-threatened Magpies visit the London Stadium this weekend.
Although, with Eddie Howe’s outfit being undefeated in their last five Premier League fixtures, and having won their last three consecutive outings, Moyes will know that he has to get his team selection spot on if he is to give his side the best possible chance of sealing all three points in Saturday’s meeting.
And, despite Aaron Cresswell’s poor showing in midweek, with Vladimir Coufal’s level of performance having been on something of a downward trend in recent fixtures, the Czech Republic international would appear to be the prime candidate for the chop against Newcastle.
Moyes must axe Coufal
Despite having been one of West Ham’s most impressive players over his 34 Premier League appearances last season – with the right-back helping his side keep nine clean sheets, registering seven assists and creating nine big chances for his teammates, returns which saw him earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 7.01 – it has been a rather different story for the 29-year-old this time out.
Indeed, over the £12.5m-rated defender’s last five league outings, Coufal has averaged a well below-par SofaScore match rating of 6.86 – with his performance in the 2-2 draw with Leicester last time out being a particular cause for concern.
Over his 67 minutes on the pitch, the £31k-per-week full-back completed just 16 of his 28 attempted passes – a success rate of a mere 57% – lost five duels, ceded possession of the ball on 20 separate occasions and was dribbled past by an opponent twice.
These returns not only saw the 26-time capped international hooked for Ryan Fredericks midway through the second half but also saw the right-back receive an extremely disappointing SofaScore match rating of just 6.2 – the joint second-worst of any West Ham player to feature in the match.
As such, with Moyes himself admitting that the right flank was a “problem” for West Ham against the Foxes, the Scotsman simply must axe Coufal against Newcastle on Saturday, as, with the Magpies more than likely to start Allan Saint-Maximin on the left-wing, a repeat performance of the 29-year-old’s midweek showing could cost the Hammers dearly.
In other news: Moyes can finally axe “terrible” £40k-p/w flop as West Ham plot bid for £8.5m “animal”