WHZ View: Declan Rice has key role to play as West Ham welcome West Brom
West Ham United welcome West Brom to the London Stadium on Tuesday with the away side full of confidence.
The Baggies earned only their second win of the Premier League season on Saturday, beating their local rivals Wolves 3-2 at Molineux.
Matheus Pereira scored two penalties and Semi Ajayi headed home as Sam Allardyce prepares to return to the Irons.
It may have been two penalties, but it was smart how the Albion worked those positions.
West Brom capitalised on the spaces left in midfield, with Callum Robinson terrorising the Wolves backline with his runs along each man.
Looking at the first penalty, Robinson is occupying Leander Dendonker, but one pass allows him to tempt Willy Boly into a tackle with no help from midfield.
Under little pressure from the midfield, Robert Snodgrass can pick Robinson out with ease, leading to the rash challenge from Boly.
The exact same thing happens for the second penalty, but this time, our example will look at the massive space left by the likes of Ruben Neves.
That corridor welcomed the likes of Kamil Grosicki and Pereira to get on the ball and cause constant problems with ease at Molineux.
This is where Declan Rice comes into play.
Rice is going to play a vital role at keeping the Baggies at bay and will need to be wary of leaving huge gaps in midfield just as Wolves did on Saturday.
Rice is brilliant with his positioning and has the skill of always being where the Hammers need him to be in midfield.
Looking at his heatmap via WyScout, the 22-year-old is great at monitoring the space in front of the back four – something which will help tonight.
West Brom won’t expect much of the ball and will want to counter the Hammers to take advantage of any potential space inbetween the midfield and defence.
This is where Rice needs to be smart.
Tomas Soucek will be allowed to roam forward, but Rice must avoid temptation and stay composed in midfield to shut off each option for the Baggies.
Should he do just that, it could be a long evening for Big Sam.
In other West Ham United news, the Irons enter six-club battle to sign Jesse Lingard