West Ham will be having a difficult fixture at home when they host Stoke City this Saturday. Stoke are on a winning streak unlike the Hammers and will be full of confidence. Here are 3 key areas which might decide the outcome.
Wilfred Bony vs Angelo Ogbonna
Stoke City’s biggest threat is their attacking trio, which consists of Arnautovic and Xherdan Shaqiri with Wilfred Bony leading the line. While the other two had found their shooting boots in previous matches, the Manchester City loanee Bony was misfiring for Stoke until their last match.
Wilfred Bony is known for his physical strength on and off the ball and his presence in the opponent’s box cause many nervy moments from indirect set pieces. West Ham United will be very wary of the Ivorian forward.
He has made 7 appearances for Stoke City and scored 2 goals only in the last game, which indicates that he will come to the match with a huge dose of confidence. West Ham’s central defensive leader Angelo Ogbonna will be given the responsibility of stopping him.
The Italian has been brilliant in his position conducting the backline with discipline and maturity. He has played 7 league matches for the Hammers and has been booked only once, which shows he is not into rash tackling. Bilic will be highly relying on his defender to stop Stoke’s attacks.
Xherdan Shaqiri vs James Collins
Shaqiri has been unstoppable in the last few matches since scoring his brace against Hull City in the previous match. His left foot is absolutely lethal and could do heavy damage if not stopped early in his strides.
He continuously makes attacking runs looking to find space behind the wing-backs and after West Ham’s Winston Reid got red carded, Bilic will most likely replace him with James Collins. Having already made 6 appearances for the Hammers this season on which he even scored a goal, Collins will more likely to take up the job at hand and Bilic trusts him to stop the Swiss.
West Ham’s 3-man defense has been better to that 4 at the back setup, but Stoke’s huge attacking weaponry up front with an in-form Joe Allen pulling the strings will be a big threat.
Shaqiri has scored 3 goals in 6 appearances this season and has been rejuvenated after returning from injury.
Dimitri Payet vs Bruno Martins Indi
Although Payet hasn’t been in the best of touches this season scoring only 1 in 8 appearances for the Hammers, we all know what he is capable of and how dangerous a threat he can be for Stoke City.
Payet has 8 assists this season, which makes him dangerous even when he is not scoring.
Stoke will have Bruno Martins Indi to take care of the French international and he has been impressive for the Potters of late after a dull start. His strength makes him a valuable possession during counter attacks.
His tremendous focus will also help in tracking Payet’s tricks. It will be a good battle to watch.
