West Ham United confirmed early team news ahead of Premier League showdown v Nottingham Forest
Lucas Paqueta is back doing “a little” training for West Ham but remained coy on whether he’d be available as they prepare to face Nottingham Forest in a pivotal encounter on Saturday [25 February] at the London Stadium.
The Brazilian went off injured in the Hammers’ 1-1 draw against Chelsea last weekend and missed the 2-0 defeat to Spurs as a result
Moyes has also revealed that defender Kurt Zouma and Maxwel Cornet are back from their respective injuries training with the squad.
As quoted by Football.London in his press conference on Friday (24 February) Moyes said, “Kurt Zouma is back in training, Maxi Cornet is back in training, Lucas Paqueta is doing a little bit. I know what I’m going to do and I know we’re not going to tell you.”
The Hammers remained tight-lipped on Jarrod Bowen’s situation after the England international was reported to be unavailable for Saturday’s game [GiveMeSport, 23 February].
However, Moyes confirmed that striker Danny Ings “is getting fitter” with the former Aston Villa man in line to make his first start since his January move
A must win
Saturday’s contest is a huge game for West Ham, and David Moyes. It’s certainly going to be a rather tense atmosphere as the Hammers fans hope that the players can pick up just their second win since the World Cup break.
Potentially without key stars such as Bowen and Paqueta is such a damaging blow to the club’s chances of a much-needed victory, as Moyes will have to rely on the likes of Said Benrahma and Pablo Fornals to come up with the creative goods to supply Ings or Michail Antonio and record a precious win.
Both players have flattered to deceive all season when given the opportunity, but there is also a case to argue that their free-flowing creative style simply does not Moyes’ reserved and cautious approach.
The Hammers are in a torrid position right now, and any thought of attractive football must be put on the back burner as Moyes tries to find solutions to get his team firing again.
Lose on Saturday, and the former Everton manager could be out of a job, according to reports [The Times, 20 February].