West Ham United: David Moyes must hook James Ward-Prowse at half-time v Luton
David Moyes must replace James Ward-Prowse at the break if West Ham are to come back in the second half against Luton Town in Saturday’s (11 May) Premier League clash.
West Ham were 1-0 down just six minutes into Moyes’ final home game in charge at the London Stadium, with Albert Sambi Lokonga making a late run into the box to head Luton in front from close range.
Lokonga was Ward-Prowse’s man to mark as Elijah Adebayo’s cross came in, but the Hammers midfielder did nothing to prevent the Belgian from racing into the area unopposed and ghosting between Kurt Zouma and Angelo Ogbonna to open the scoring.
Facing a Luton side who need to win, West Ham have been under-par in the opening 45 minutes with Ward-Prowse failing to impose himself in midfield, and if Moyes doesn’t change things at half-time, the Irons are on track for five games without a win.
Ward-Prowse must be replaced after passive West Ham showing
West Ham manager David Moyes made just one change ahead of this game, despite the Irons’ rearguard being torn to shreds in a 5-0 loss at Chelsea last time out. That solitary new face in the XI? Ward-Prowse.
However, the England international has been a passenger for much of the first half, being routinely overrun by Luton’s midfield duo of Lokonga and Ross Barkley and being a shadow in his own defensive third.
Tahith Chong and Carlton Morris have also enjoyed plenty of freedom to roam in the space between West Ham’s midfield and defence, with Ward-Prowse and Tomas Soucek failing to plug those gaps.
His only real attacking contribution saw him line up an early free-kick – his trademark – but even that was an under-par effort which Ward-Prowse fired straight into the Luton wall from the edge of the box.
Luton, who as things stands are on course for the victory which will make sure their fight against relegation goes to the final day, have seen no need to play ultra-expansive football given they’re already 1-0 up.
However, they’ve still been able to hit West Ham both through the middle and out wide, in a first-half that became very stop-start towards the latter stages.
Edson Alvarez, who Ward-Prowse replaced in the starting XI, is the most obvious option to replace the 29-year-old at half-time, while youngster George Earthy would present an untried alternative in the middle of the park.
David Moyes has to change something at half-time, and if West Ham want to regain control in this midfield battle, Ward-Prowse must improve massively or be withdrawn.
In other West Ham news, Wolves’ stance on Max Kilman has been shared by Fabrizio Romano amid transfer links to the Hammers.
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