A 3-1 defeat against Leicester City leaves West Ham United sitting in 14th place with a potential relegation battle looming should results fail to improve in the near future.
Julen Lopetegui was appointed as David Moyes’ successor in May 2024 and has had a difficult start in his short tenure as the Hammers manager. The London-based side have spent almost the entire season in the bottom half, winning just five games out of 16 in all competitions.
Impressive wins against Manchester United and Newcastle United in the past month would have eased some pressure on the Spaniard, but his team has been highly inconsistent. Since the victory at Saint James’ Park a week ago, West Ham have lost 5-2 to Arsenal at home and 3-1 to Leicester. The Hammers will face Lopetegui’s former side Wolverhampton Wanderers this weekend and a loss will almost certainly see him sacked.
West Ham United have struggled in both attack and defence
The London side has had problems at both ends of the pitch. They have underperformed their expected goals (xG) tally of 20.4 (9th highest) by 2.4 goals and have one of the worst defensive records with an expected goals against (xGA) of 25.3 (4th highest). Only Wolves, Southampton, and Leicester have conceded more goals than West Ham’s 27.
Against the Foxes, West Ham managed an incredible 31 shots but only managed to score a single goal–a header in stoppage time. The Hammers were wasteful in attack and were carved open by Leicester far too easily. Of the eight shots the hosts had, seven were classified as big chances by Opta.
West Ham have a good squad which could potentially challenge for Europe with the right manager. Lopetugui has so far failed to bring the best out of the players and faces a defining game against Wolves to make amends. Reports suggest that a loss will see the Spaniard sacked, with Graham Potter on the list of managers being considered as his replacement by the West Ham board.
