West Ham United will take on Swansea in the Boxing Day fixture this Monday. Despite making a big jump in the league table, the Hammers haven’t been quite sharp in their game. Under fire manager, Slaven Bilic will have tremendous stress going into the match, and so will Bob Bradley.
Here are the 3 key battles that might decide the outcome when West Ham visit Swansea City.
Leroy Fer vs Mark Noble
Fer has become a quintessential player for Swansea this season. He started from the bench last game, which didn’t help anyway and we expect Bradley to put him in the starting line-up. Former manager Guidolin relied on the Dutch midfielder to pull them out of the relegation zone and he will definitely be the key player for Swansea against the Hammers. Fer has scored 6 goals and created 5 assists so far. He has completed 422 passes this season with a pass accuracy of 81%, of which 69% were forward passes.
Noble’s penalty, in the end, won West Ham the game last time, but the midfield general has looked quite out of touch at times. Barring the penalty, his performance was below average last time. He will have to level up his game this time. He has scored one goal this season, creating 12 chances but hasn’t provided a single assist. Mark Noble has completed 627 passes this season with a pass accuracy of 88%, of which 70% were forward passes.
Fernando Llorente vs Winston Reid
After starting the season on a poor note, Llorente has now gained his composure. After losing his place in the first team, he produced one of the thrilling performances of the league against Crystal Palace. It was his entry into the first team back again. He has scored five goals this season and has a shot accuracy of 64%.
Winston Reid has been one of the rare positives for West Ham United in the defence and he has looked lethal in the offensive duties too. He will be covering Llorente in the match. He’s won 15 tackles this season with a success rate of 43%. He has made 48 interceptions, 123 clearances and 14 blocks and has been the main man in the defence.
Dimitri Payet vs Mike van der Hoorn
The Hammers are heavily reliant on the French star and it is understandable given the level he is at. West Ham United will really struggle to keep him at London Stadium for long. He is simply world-class and miles better than any other player in Bilic’s squad. He has scored twice but his six assists have been even more telling especially with the aerial prowess of Antonio.
Jordi Amat is expected to give way for van der Hoorn in this game and the defender has shown promising displays at times. In his 6 appearances, he has won five tackles, making 16 interceptions, 49 clearances and six blocks.
