Nuno Espirito Santo desperate to avoid making embarrassing West Ham history vs Newcastle
Nuno Espirito Santo could be about to lead West Ham to an embarrassing club first in their clash with Newcastle on Sunday.
It’s been a dismal start to the season at the London Stadium, and the Portuguese’s recent arrival in the dugout has done nothing to improve the disastrous opening spell.
Nuno is already under pressure at West Ham, and could easily find his job on the line in the coming weeks, if he and his group don’t begin to show signs of improvement.
They are already rooted inside the bottom three of the Premier League table, and things could be about to go from bad to worse against the Magpies this weekend.
Newcastle defeat will condemn West Ham to new low
Nuno and Co. have to get January right at West Ham if they are to pull themselves away from the dreaded dotted line at the bottom of the league table.
The East Londoners are currently on a run of three straight defeats in the league, with the new boss’ without a point since a solitary draw away at Everton in his opening game at the end of October.
Newcastle represent another difficult challenge for the E20 outfit this weekend, with Eddie Howe’s men currently on a run of five wins from their last six games in all competitions.
- Newcastle have kept four clean sheets in their last six games in all competitions
- Their only defeat in that run came away at Brighton
- they are winless in four away games so far in the Premier League
Establishing some semblance of positive home form will be crucial for the Hammers’ survival chances, and there is no better time for that to start than this weekend.
However, there will be an added incentive for them to ensure they leave the London Stadium with a positive result on Sunday, as Nuno and his men will surely be desperate to avoid creating an embarrassing piece of club history.
No West Ham team has ever lost eight of their opening 10 games of a league campaign, but that is exactly what will be facing Nuno’s charges if they slip to another defeat this weekend.
Nuno has to hope for more from Lucas Paqueta
Lucas Paqueta’s future at West Ham has come under speculation once again in recent days, as a move away in January has been touted.
The Brazilian’s inconsistency has continued so far this season, but he is a player who is capable of dragging his team away from the foot of the table virtually on his own if Nuno can get him firing.
Between Paqueta, Jarrod Bowen and Crysencio Summerville, the Portuguese has some talented attackers at his disposal behind the striker, and they will be crucial to help turn the ship around.
However, he needs more from his attacking midfielder than the two league goal contributions that he has provided so far.
If Paqueta stays put and plays a key role in keeping West Ham in the division, then there would be few fans who begrudged him a move away next summer.
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