Credit: Imago

James Barker

Thu 2 April 2026 20:10, UK

West Ham United are fighting for their Premier League lives, and Kyle Walker-Peters may need to start over Aaron Wan-Bissaka due to his superior defensive numbers.

Nuno Espirito Santo is going to have to make some brave calls in the coming weeks, as he looks to extract enough out of his West Ham players to get them over the line.

The Hammers currently trail 17th-placed Tottenham by a single point, and with winnable games against Wolves and Crystal Palace coming up, it’s vital that points are put on the board from those two.

Nuno’s side have struggled at both ends of the pitch this season, with 36 goals scored and 57 conceded respectively, but it’s at the back where their biggest issue lies.

Only Burnley (61) have conceded more than the Irons this term, and so in these final seven games, putting an emphasis on being stronger at the back is sure to be the message Nuno tries to get across.

How Kyle Walker-Peters and Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s stats compare

Wan-Bissaka is struggling for form at the moment, with the 28-year-old largely being West Ham’s first-choice starting right-back this season.

His main rival for that role has been Walker-Peters, who the Hammers signed on a free transfer last summer from Southampton.

Wan-Bissaka has built himself a reputation for being an excellent one-versus-one defender, with numerous wingers commonly citing him as giving them their toughest individual battle.

But, as per Sofascore, it’s actually Walker-Peters that is posting superior defensive numbers in most categories.

Walker-Peters has given the ball away an average of 6.1 times per game this season, whilst Wan-Bissaka has conceded possession an average of 13.2 times per game.

He’s also posting a higher success rate for dribbles completed, ground duels won and tackles made per match too, whilst Walker-Peters’ passing accuracy of 86 per cent trumps Wan-Bissaka’s 76 per cent comprehensively too.

Despite all that, Walker-Peters hasn’t been named in the starting lineup for a Premier League game in his last 10 matchday squad inclusions, and so that might need to change.

West Ham’s key to survival is improving in defence

As aforementioned, West Ham have found the net 36 times this season, and whilst that’s not anything to write home about, it’s nothing to be overly ashamed of either.

Indeed, that’s more than Wolves (24), Burnley (33), Nottingham Forest (31), Crystal Palace (33) and Sunderland (32) respectively, and is only one fewer than eighth-placed Everton’s return of 37.

So, Nuno’s side might just have enough in attack to fend off Championship football for 2026-27, but perhaps not in defence.

Therefore, finding improvement in their backline is going to be essential to their survival chances, and so whilst Wan-Bissaka is the bigger name, Walker-Peters’ numbers actually suggest that he might be the wiser starting option at right-back.