West Ham United: David Moyes must axe Kurt Zouma and Vladimir Coufal v Brentford
Considering the current form and run of games at West Ham, it feels incredibly harsh to hold the spotlight over two specific players after a 2-0 loss to Nottingham Forest on Saturday 17 February.
Kalvin Phillips was one of the biggest letdowns at The City Ground during the match, as the Manchester City loanee was given his marching orders by referee Thomas Bramall after two yellow cards.
However, with the midfielder now banned for the upcoming fixture against Brentford at the London Stadium, the decision to axe him is no longer in David Moyes’ hands and will be a definite change.
David Moyes must make a centre-back change
One of the biggest strugglers against Forest was club captain Kurt Zouma, who failed to deal with Taiwo Awoniyi throughout the first half and was subsequently cautioned in the second half after stopping a counterattack.
For a player who is supposed to lead by example, the 29-year-old has been one of the biggest disappointments in recent weeks, and the loss to Forest was no different.
Zouma failed to register a single tackle, winning 0 per cent of his ground duels, and was booked after making three fouls. [FotMob]
While his passing accuracy was relatively high with 82 per cent, his long balls up to the likes of Michail Antonio, Jarrod Bowen and Mohammed Kudus had 0 per cent accuracy, spoiling any chances of their own counters.
After being hooked at half-time during the 6-0 thrashing by Arsenal on Sunday 11 February, many eyebrows were raised when he was named on the teamsheet once again and must not start against Brentford.
Ivan Toney will pose a similar threat to Awoniyi if not a much more dangerous one, and he should be replaced by Konstantinos Mavropanos for the Premier League clash.
London Stadium must host brutal West Ham changes
Vladimir Coufal also struggled to find his feet at The City Ground, with the constant threat of Callum Hudson-Odoi and Nuno Tavares bombing down West Ham’s right flank.
The Czechia international had to be hooked with 15 minutes of the game remaining, making way for Ben Johnson, which should also be the change that Moyes makes ahead of the Brentford game.
Though Coufal is known for his astute defending and solidness, confidence has seemed to lack in recent weeks, and that transferred to the Forest match. He missed 100 per cent of his tackles, while also missing 50 per cent of his ground duels. [FotMob]
Coufal had a much bigger impact than Zouma in starting any attacks but was still lacking in accuracy and quality, maintaining a low 43 per cent long ball accuracy throughout his 76 minutes on the pitch.
In other West Ham news, a journalist has shared why a permanent Hammers exit collapsed in January.
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