West Ham United Making it three matches unbeaten in Premier LeagueHe tied with Brighton 1-1 at the London Stadium, with two goals scored by Mats Wever and Mohamed Quddus.
Although they have fewer seagulls (46% compared to 54% for Brighton) and fewer big chances created (two to Brighton's four), the Hammers produced a higher xG than Brighton, with 1.31 xG to 0.94 xG.
But there is one man in particular who let Lopetegui down against the Seagulls, and he has been struggling all season under the new coach, finding himself already left out on a number of occasions.
Lucas Paqueta's performance against Brighton
Lucas Paqueta He has played in 19 matches so far this seasonHe scored three goals, totaling 1,260 minutes. However, the Brazilian is yet to provide a single assist, even though his creative passing is one of his best attributes.
Against Brighton Paqueta lost the ball 14 timesHe completed only 78% of his passes, and failed in all three of his dribble attempts. The 27-year-old also picked up his fifth Premier League booking of the season, meaning he will miss the match against Southampton on Boxing Day.
Paquita was clearly putting himself in the middle of the park, as it were He made five tackles in the gamewon nine out of 15 ground duels, and won two out of five air duels.
However, his insistence on losing possession whenever West Ham regain possession has put the team under unnecessary pressure, and the Boxing Day match against Southampton could now be their perfect opportunity to experiment, and find an option that reduces the Brazil international to the bench even when he is his own man. The ban is up.
How West Ham could replace Paqueta on Boxing Day
One option for Lopetegui is to move Mohamed Ghoudous to the central attacking midfield position, allowing summer signing, Crescencio Summerville to start on the left and maintain width.
However, this will require him to take on a different role, not looking to be an outlet in wide areas, and instead needing his physicality off the ball to win duels and carry the ball forward in transition to progress the play for the team.
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Another option is Carlos Soler, another summer signing. The Spaniard missed the match against Brighton at the weekend, after receiving his fifth yellow card in the Premier League against Bournemouth. This would be the most impressive option available for Lopetegui.
|
Compare Paquita vs Kudos vs Soler |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Statistics (per 90 minutes) |
Paquita |
glory |
Solaire |
|
Objectives |
0.21 |
0.27 |
0.00 |
|
Helps |
0.00 |
0.18 |
0.13 |
|
xG |
0.26 |
0.33 |
0.10 |
|
xAG |
0.13 |
0.13 |
0.13 |
|
Holds progressivism |
0.68 |
4.00 |
1.34 |
|
Progressive passes |
4.89 |
3.27 |
4.03 |
|
Total shots |
1.50 |
3.27 |
2.37 |
|
Key passes |
1.50 |
1.18 |
1.19 |
|
Snapshot creation procedures |
3.46 |
4.27 |
4.33 |
|
Interventions + interceptions |
3.00 |
1.73 |
1.14 |
|
Statistics taken from FBref |
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By analyzing the metrics above, you can see what we stand to lose if Paqueta is not in the team. This extra intensity (while leading to those yellow cards) also gave West Ham more recovery in midfield, where they won their duels, made tackles and interceptions, and then looked to play forward passes.
The final option who could bring more progressive passing, defensive solidity and mobility into the midfield is 18-year-old Lewis Orford. The midfielder has yet to feature at a senior level, but he has done so He made 12 appearances for the U21 team this seasonHe provided three assists and total playing minutes reached 1,059 minutes.
Whether the easy option is to include Soler as a starter, bring Kudus into the attack a bit more, or trust someone from the academy, Lopetegui will have a decision to make before facing Southampton on Boxing Day. We're looking to make it four games without losing.
