Charlie Nicholas has predicted that Watford will beat West Ham 2-1 on Saturday and said that Manuel Pellegrini’s side doesn’t have a lot of goals in it.
Writing in his column for Sky Sports, Nicholas also singled out Felipe Anderson, Manuel Lanzini and Jack Wilshere for criticism.
“West Ham started slow last season and they have been waiting for a few players to come back,” Nicholas wrote.
“I thought they would have let Javier Hernandez go but they have kept him and I don’t see this being a high-scoring team.
“Felipe Anderson, Manuel Lanzini and Jack Wilshere have to do more. They need to get a few results to get going.
“Watford have been the big disappointment of the season so far. They were a good side last season but we haven’t seen anything from Gerard Deulofeu yet. It’s time for them to start.”
OPINION
If West Ham have had a slow start to the season what about Watford? They’re rooted to the bottom of the Premier League and still haven’t scored a goal this season. Criticism over Wilshere is fair – according to WhoScored he was the lowest-ranked player on the pitch against Brighton. But Anderson was missing from the game through injury (he should be back for the Watford clash) and Lanzini was the only player to score an eight from WhoScored. This smacks of slightly dialing-it-in journalism from Nicholas looking for reasons for West Ham’s start to the season. Losing 5-0 to Man City might not have been the best start but no one was really expecting anything but a home win there. Brighton beat Watford 3-0 on the opening day of the season and Pellegrini will be looking for a reaction from his side. We expect him to get it, with club-record signing Sebastien Haller due back from injury as well.
