OPINION
West Ham United recorded another win on the board with a 2-0 victory over Newcastle last Saturday, so they will no doubt be coming into this weekend’s match against Cardiff with an air of optimism.
Mark Noble and Declan Rice put the game to bed for the hosts, three points which lifts them to ninth place in the Premier League table on 39 points – however, despite the result, there are still some changes to be made to the side by boss Manuel Pellegrini.
He must make two changes to the side, one of them being enforced after Football London reported that Aaron Cresswell is a doubt for the Bluebirds clash after banging heads with United’s Javier Manquillo.
In goal, Lukasz Fabianski must start as normal.
It is the defence which must suffer the first casualty, and this must come in the shape of Cresswell, who came off at the half hour mark for the Hammers. Overall, he coped rather well with the threat of Newcastle before he was taken off, but for this match, the first teamer – who has made 18 appearances this season – must be replaced by Arthur Masuaku.
Angelo Ogbonna was simply sublime and this match really saw him come into his own, proving the dominant force when coming up against Salomon Rondon and Miguel Almiron. There is no reason for him to be dropped for Fabian Balbuena, as this is the best we have ever seen from him.
In terms of the midfield, Declan Rice did not put a foot wrong, Noble’s workrate was excellent, as was Robert Snodgrass’. However, Felipe Anderson did not seem to get himself into this game, but starting him against Cardiff could help him overcome this problem.
The second and final change should come in the shape of Javier Hernandez, who must be dropped for fellow striker Marko Arnautovic. The Mexican was not the most effective up front, and he must be replaced by a player who is more of a danger.
If Pellegrini makes the right calls regarding the starting XI, then there is no doubt that his team would be able to blitz past Cardiff with ease on Saturday.
