WHZ View: Aaron Cresswell can play critical role for Hammers v Sheffield United
Sheffield United may be planted at the foot of the Premier League table but they will prove tough opposition for West Ham on Monday.
They have looked rejuvenated in recent weeks with wins over Manchester United and West Brom.
To make matters worse Michail Antonio may miss out once more, while Andriy Yarmolenko also picked up an injury against Manchester United.
We looked shocking up-front without those two, so our main threat against Sheffield United may be set-pieces.
David Moyes has developed our effectiveness with the dead ball.
We have scored 11 times from set-pieces this season, the joint-highest in the league according to WhoScored.
That is mostly thanks to the brilliant ability of Aaron Cresswell and he could play a vital role in both attack and defence tonight.
Sheffield United are vulnerable in that department, too, with 10 goals conceded.
We feel it might be time for Thomas Soucek to shine again or even Craig Dawson.
The former has won a number of plaudits his season but Cresswell is often the architect of his success.
A return of six assists demonstrate that, while no West Ham player betters his average of 1.5 key passes per game, per WhoScored.
Per WyScout, Creswell has averaged 1.2 shot assists per game and 5.1 passes to the final third.
That means he plays a key role in applying pressure on the defence and hopefully he will be allowed to do that at Bramall Lane.
Angelo Ogbonna faces a spell on the sidelines while Issa Diop suffered a concussion last time out.
Moyes says the centre-back is doing well now but he still may prefer to use Cresswell centrally, as he performed well there against Man United.
A return of 3.3 interceptions and one tackle per game demonstrate the 31-year-old’s defensive qualities so we back him to do well at full-back or in the middle.
Sheffield United have only scored 15 goals this season too while we have eight clean sheets.
We should keep them quiet, therefore, and hopefully we can nick a goal to get all three points despite our possible lack of strikers.
In other West Ham news, Exclusive: Frank McAvennie predicts West Ham clash v Sheffield United.