West Ham’s surprise top four challenge was put on hold after the 2-2 draw against Swansea In their last Premier League outing, although the stalemate doesn’t quite certify West Ham’s exit from the top four race.
West Ham fans will most certainly feel hard done by, because of the harsh red card brandished by Mark Clattenburg, which saw Kouyate sent off at Upton Park when the Hammers had a slender 2-1 lead against the Swans.
West Ham’s lack of numbers in the Midfield ruined their Chances in that game, and most Hammers’ supporters would argue that they could’ve seen the game off if Kouyate was still in the fray then.
The draw against Swansea proved to be even more disheartening because of the fact that Manchester United and Manchester City both secured maximum points in their respective fixtures leaving West Ham all the way at 6th place with 51 points.
Although from what we’ve seen from West Ham all season long, they’re expected to be keen on bouncing back with an excellent string of results in their upcoming fixtures as Slaven Billic seems to have integrated a winning mentality into the dugout this season and that appears to have significantly influenced their performances.
In the past few Premier League seasons, West Ham were more of a mid-table side with a view of maintaining their Premier League status, but this campaign has sparked a turning point for the Hammers as European football looks to be the main topic on their agenda.
The West Ham hierarchy will be happy with their decision to part ways with Sam Allardyce and bring in the Croatian tactician who has won the hearts of all West Ham fans.
With Seven games to go, West Ham still have an excellent chance of finishing within the top four, but they need to put in extra efforts to maintain a winning streak if they’re to out-gun the Manchester clubs.
Dimitri Payet and company don’t seem like stopping the free flowing football anytime soon as the French catalyst has proven to be West Ham’s biggest threat from any angle on the pitch and even more so considering his recent dead-ball exploits.
Manuel Lanzini has also been up to the mark this season, and he’ll be hoping to complete the transition of being a relatively unknown player to playing mid-week football next season.
West Ham have somewhat of a swagger about them at the moment, but they’ll have to keep their eyes on the prize to outwit other Champions League hopefuls.
Manchester City’s concentration levels will be put to the test when they face their French counterparts PSG in a Champions League Quarter-Final tie.
Over the next eight days, City will be focused on orchestrating a victory against PSG in the UCL, which could, in turn, mean that they won’t be very focused going into this weekend’s clash against Tony Pulis’ West Brom, leaving West Ham with an opportunity to close in on Man City.
