Kalvin Phillips under huge pressure in West Ham United XI as David Moyes axes two after Arsenal
David Moyes knows he absolutely must get a response from his West Ham side at Nottingham Forest after his job was put in doubt by defeat to Arsenal.
The 6-0 home defeat by the Gunners last weekend has put the Scot’s long-term future at the London Stadium in doubt, with the expected contract extension now shelved by David Sullivan and the board [Daily Mail, 12 February].
The manager has responded to that result with two changes to his starting XI for the trip to Nottingham Forest, with Tomas Soucek and Ben Johnson dropped in favour of January loan signing Kalvin Phillips and fit-again Michail Antonio.
The Czech midfielder has long been a favourite of the Hammers boss so he has placed major faith on last month’s arrival from Manchester City to come good after a difficult start to life at the club.
Moyes turns to Manchester City struggler for West Ham response
Phillips, who has seen so little football under Pep Guardiola since leaving Leeds United 18 months earlier, got off to a nightmare start as he was blamed for West Ham conceding to Bournemouth as possession was lost after his first touch in an Irons shirt [Daily Mail, 1 February].
He was subsequently dropped to the bench for back-to-back losses against Manchester United and Arsenal, so his restoration to the XI for a vital away trip to face Nuno Espirito Santo’s Forest is a major show of faith.
If he was rusty upon arrival at the London Stadium he cannot afford to have another difficult day for West Ham, as a positive reaction to the embarrassment in Stratford last weekend is clearly of huge importance.
Antonio returns as West Ham look to bounce back at Nottingham Forest
Should the England international respond to show the quality he is well known to have at the City Ground it will help partly vindicate Moyes’ decision to push for an expensive loan deal with the treble-winners, when attacking reinforcements looked the priority heading into the January window.
It’s not quite make or break for Phillips at West Ham yet, but it feels like it is getting close to it for his manager, so in the circumstances the pressure has been piled on the 28-year-old’s shoulders.
In other West Ham news, a three-time title winner is set to be in the frame to come at the London Stadium.
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