Mark Lawrenson predicted Everton to beat West Ham 2-1 when they host their Premier League rivals at Goodison Park on Sunday.
The BBC pundit shared that he thought the Hammers had been abysmal so far this season and pinpointed the fact they play “so, so open” as a weakness.
Lawrenson claimed that unless the Hammers bring in more players then he couldn’t envision how Manuel Pellegrini was going to change West Ham’s fortunes.
“West Ham are the only top-flight team without a point this season and their manager Manuel Pellegrini has got a few things to sort out right through his team,” wrote Lawrenson in his predictions for BBC Sport.
“Defensively, the Hammers are abysmal. They were so, so open against Wolves and they have been the same in every other game.
“Without changing the personnel – as in going to get some more players – I can’t see what they are possibly going to do to change that.
“Meanwhile, Everton are still unbeaten and have been playing all right but will feel they have dropped points – in their home draw with Huddersfield last time out, or away at Wolves, for example.
“I think they will win on Sunday but there are much tougher tests to come.”
OPINION
Lawrenson clearly isn’t a fan of the Hammers’ current playing style as he seems to suggest they need to start shutting up shop in order to achieve better results. The BBC pundit bizarrely claimed that the Hammers need to go on a shopping spree in order to improve their side but that’s exactly what they did in the summer and that doesn’t seem to be working wonders. Hopefully for the sake of Hammers supporters and Pellegrini, Lawrenson’s negative prediction for the clash against the Toffees as well as his generally pessimistic outlook at the future of the club is wide of the mark. As Hammers fans deserve better especially after a terrible campaign last season and Pellegrini will soon find himself on the unemployment line if he doesn’t turn it around even with his glittering CV. The Hammers appear to be playing the Toffees at perfect time as not only was Marco Silva’s side disappointing in their outing ahead of the international break, they seem be in the midst of an injury crisis despite it only being September.
