Nuno Espirito Santo looking annoyed at West Ham
Nuno Espirito SantoImago

Three West Ham questions this week include does Nuno have a number nine issue?

Pete Hanson

Head of Editorial Standards & Recruitment AUTHORITY Former senior digital journalist at Stats Perform; network specialist in live data, editorial standards, and journalist recruitment. FOCUS Editorial standards, Statscore live data integration, newsroom operations, and recruitment. THE BRIEF Pete brings deep data expertise from his time at Stats Perform to oversee the network’s use of Statscore’s live data, setting the standard for how writers use it to produce original editorial content. He is also responsible for maintaining editorial standards and leading recruitment across the network.

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West Ham United earned a huge victory at Swansea City on Saturday.

The Hammers had hammered Lincoln City 6-0 in the match prior to set up a big clash at the Swansea.com Stadium.

And Nuno Espirito Santo's men ran out 1-0 winners, with Divine Mukasa scoring the old goal in the 34th minute.

It was a victory that leaves West Ham sitting second in the table, and only one point adrift of Vitor Matos' side.

West Ham will now prepare for the visit of Southampton to the London Stadium on Saturday.

Before then, though, West Ham Zone has picked out three questions for supporters over the past seven days.

Does Nuno have a number nine issue at West Ham?

It might seem harsh to start with a negative question, and obviously the overriding feeling is positive after such a big win.

But there is a slight nagging concern about the lack of goals being contributed by West Ham's forward line.

Pablo got his first goal on the season in the Lincoln rout, but between him, Taty Castellanos, and Joel Piroe, there have been just five league goals scored.

So long as West Ham keep scoring and winning then it's not a problem, but Nuno would certainly like a consistent threat up top.

Nuno Espirito Santo looking annoyed at West Ham
Joel Piroe sends message to Swansea after vital West Ham United win

Is there a welcome headache in West Ham's midfield?

Right now, there is a really nice battle heating up in the centre of the park at West Ham.

Arne Engels looks to have one position down on lock, but Tomas Soucek and Mohamadou Kante are battling it out to play alongside him.

Mukasa played a little more advanced off Pablo against the Swans, and is proving to be a reall important player during his loan spell from Manchester City.

There's also the potential outcome where Edson Alvarez and Soungoutou Magassa get reintegrated into the fold.

So, there is a nice range of options available to Nuno in the engine room right now.

Does Edvin Austbo deserve a start?

Another battle at West Ham is emerging on the left flank.

Edvin Austbo impressed off the bench in the Lincoln route, scoring and assisting at Sincil Bank.

He was only a sub against Swansea again, though, with Manor Solomon preferred to start.

Does the young Norwegian deserve another opportunity to shine from the start?

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