WHZ Tactics: Jesse Lingard to drive West Ham to victory at the Etihad
If West Ham are to take anything away from the Etihad Stadium on Saturday we need Jesse Lingard to maintain his menacing form.
The former England international joined the Hammers on loan in January from Manchester United after being frozen out at Old Trafford. The jury was split on his signing.
However, in his first four appearances, Lingard has scored three times and won a penalty in his third game.
His arrival has seen us break into the top four. We’re currently nine points ahead of Tottenham, who we defeated 2-1 on the weekend, and five ahead of the champions Liverpool.
It certainly is a wonderful time for Hammers fans, and Lingard has undoubtedly added to the team’s success. Since arriving at the London Stadium, he has scored winning goals in two games and proved a lot of doubters wrong.
This weekend comes his biggest test, though. David Moyes will lead his squad to face Manchester City, who are ten points clear at the top of the league.
City dominate matches. They’ve averaged 63.8% possession in the top-flight this season – more than anyone [WyScout]. In contrast, we’re fifth from bottom, with 42.1%. City will definitely be seeing a lot of the ball, and we’ll be happy to let them have it.
Overall, they’ve made 16,422 passes this season. That’s 620.74 per match and 90% of which were done accurately. We make nearly half as many, 343.98 per game to be exact.
This isn’t too much of an issue. Playing on the counter is what’s got us to fourth in the table. But we need to ensure we have players to punish City for the 10% of the time they don’t pass accurately.
Enter Lingard. According to WhoScord, City make 47% of their passes in the middle third of the pitch. Our number 11 has been playing in the centre, just behind Antonio and is good at picking up possession in the middle of the park and driving forward. He averages 6.26 dribbles per match.
An example can be seen below. Lingard is lurking as Norwood plays a blind ball to Lundstram.
The attacker is on his toes early and sprints ahead of the Sheffield United player to make the interception.
He crucially gets there first and West Ham break. We go right into their penalty area where Lingard is brought down. Rice converts from the spot to put us 1-0 up. Until that point it was a cagey tie but we went on to win thanks to taking the lead here.
Playing away to City is going to be a big challenge for our squad. Our hosts are on another level at the minute, winning 19 in a row in all competitions.
But if we’re going to win at the Etihad, you’d feel that now is our best chance. Lingard has given us a new lease of life going forward. He’s averaging 3.37 shots per match, 57.1% of which have been on target.
He’s also linking up well with his teammates, and bringing out the best of them. He’s completed 85.2% of passes successfully, and 71.4% of long balls. If we’re going to do anything on Saturday, you’d assume it’s going to come through him.
Whatever happens, we’re all behind you lads.
In other West Ham news, Rice and Soucek have formed an excellent partnership in the middle for the Hammers.