After finishing a respectable 11th in the English Premier League last season, just outside of the top half, West Ham made the transition to the London Stadium full of hope for the season ahead.
The mission was to break the top ten and perhaps even the top six finishers in the Premier League. But all hasn’t gone to plan for the Hammers, losing their first three games in alarming fashion and conceding ten goals in the process.
Nevertheless, the bookmakers aren’t over-reacting to the early wobbles for Slaven Bilić’s side and they are a still odds of 4/1 (5.00) to be in the bottom three come the end of the 2017-2018 season.
Brighton have managed a draw, but two losses in their first three games and only the one bookmaker (Sky Bet) are offering even money on them to be relegated, with Burnley, Crystal Palace and Huddersfield close behind in the betting to be playing Championship football next season; something which is simply not an option for West Ham.
Defensively West Ham have been very poor so far, but there is an understandable settling down process at play and there is no question the East London side has the quality throughout the squad to start staging a comeback and return to the form required to compete in the top tier.
Joe Hart has been left vulnerable so far but remains a top class goalkeeper and indeed a very shrewd acquisition for West Ham. When he begins to get his ducks in a row from set plays and his back four are playing as a unit – not leaving so much dead space unmarshalled inside the box – West Ham have the quality in midfield and upfront to have a lot more success in front of goal.
The signing of former Manchester United, Real Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen sharp-shooter Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez has excited the Hammers fans with visions of goals galore for the remainder of the season.
A £16m price tag is a handsome but fair sum to pay to bring such a big name to the club and the Mexican star has a wealth of experience from his time playing on the continent since he vacated the Premier League in 2015.
You can place a free bet on West Ham to finish among the Top 10 at odds of 3/1 with bet365 bookmakers which is an interesting price if ‘Chicharito’ starts finding the net, which we all know the Mexican is capable of.
He scored 37 goals in 103 appearances for Manchester United and after a barren spell at Real Madrid, found the net 28 times in just 54 games.
West Ham have their next game on Sept 11th at home to Huddersfield Town, followed by clashes with West Brom and Bolton Wanderers. So with no big four teams to face, the Hammers will be looking to use it as a springboard to get some good results and points on the board.
