Michail Antonio must come on at HT if West Ham United want to win v Nottingham Forest
Julen Lopetegui has to bring Michail Antonio at half-time if he wants West Ham United to beat Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
The Irons’ Premier League clash with Forest at the City Ground this afternoon is not going according to plan, with the visitors trailing 1-0 at half-time and down to 10 men after Edson Alvarez’s red card.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Lucas Paqueta were guilty of letting Alex Moreno burst into the box without obstruction, allowing the Spaniard to set up Chris Wood for the goal.
Lopetegui must repeat what he did in the win against Manchester United last weekend by making at least one change at half-time again, with a target man now desperately needed.
Julen Lopetegui must bring Michail Antonio on for West Ham United v Nottingham Forest
West Ham had more possession than Forest in the first half, but have had little joy going forward, failing to register a single shot until added time, let alone one on target.
Therefore, it is imperative that Lopetegui makes changes up front if he wants his team to come back and claim all three points.
The Spanish tactician dropped Antonio to the bench for only the second time in the league this season and it appears the decision has not paid off.
It is evident that the Hammers need more firepower in attack and the Jamaica international is the man to provide it, although he has netted once in nine league appearances this term.
While it would not make sense to substitute Jarrod Bowen, who started the game up front, Paqueta and Crysencio Summerville are possible candidates to come off at half-time.
It would be better to axe Paqueta, who has been out of form for a while, despite the Brazilian being more experienced than Summerville as he was at fault for Wood’s goal.
Alvarez being sent off just before the half-time whistle has only made things worse for Lopetegui, with Antonio needing to come on to offer something very different in this scenario.
In other West Ham news, David Sullivan is prepared to sanction a deal for this forward from Germany.
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