Nuno Espirito Santo faces the wrath of fans with what he has done for West Ham vs Brentford
West Ham are under huge pressure to get a victory against Brentford on Monday evening.
The Hammers host the Bees at the London Stadium on 20 October, and they need to drag themselves out of relegation danger.
West Ham are genuine candidates to go down this season, with Nuno Espirito Santo drafted in, after Graham Potter was dismissed in September.
West Ham supporters are boycotting the contest, and Nuno’s team selection will not exactly inspire them.
Nuno names West Ham starting line-up for Brentford clash
West Ham have a dismal record against Brentford recently, and the Portuguese coach is hoping to arrest that when the sides meet.
He has made five changes to the side that succumbed to a 2-0 defeat to Arsenal before the international break.
Kyle Walker-Peters, Jean-Clair Todibo, Tomas Soucek and Ollie Scarles come into the side, while Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Konstantinos Mavropanos and Malick El-Hadji Diouf and Soungoutou Magassa are axed from the starting line-up to face Keith Andrews’ team, and Niclas Fullkrug misses out through injury.
Nuno will regret Konstantinos Mavropanos call vs Brentford
Nuno has made several bold calls for the clash, but the Mavropanos one is the most egregious.
Nuno needs to start getting points on the board, and choosing to leave the Greek star on the bench could prove to be the wrong call.
He could come to regret the call on Mavropanos, who has recorded 16 clearances and four interceptions and blocks against the Gunners, per Sofascore, if the result does not go his side’s way.
Mavropanos will be a huge miss from the start, as he is pivotal to the Hammers’ build-up from the back, recording a 92 per cent pass completition against Mikel Arteta’s side.
If they are still down near the bottom at the end of the season, it will be a close battle, and getting the selection right, will likely be the difference.
Nuno has risked the wrath of the supporters even further with his selection decision for such a crucial contest.
He will hope it does not backfire, but given the Greece international’s performance against the league leaders, he was expected to be one of the first names on the teamsheet.
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