Key events
Nottingham Forest have lost four in a row under Sean Dyche and are yet to pull away from the relegation battle. The club’s player of the month for December, Ibrahim Sangaré, is still at the Africa Cup of Nations with Côte d’Ivoire.
Dyche wasn’t drawn into the ‘six-pointer’ debate in his pre-match press conference:
It’s an easy line to use. I’ve been in it so many years and we are only just at the halfway point so there is a lot more football to be played either way. It’s very helpful to win this game, quite obviously so that’s the challenge, go and win away from home.
West Ham are without a win in nine games and Nuno is under major scrutiny. His man-management and tactics have led to unrest among the West Ham squad, as Jacob Steinberg reported at the weekend:
Multiple sources with knowledge of the situation have described Nuno as distant and uncommunicative on a day-to-day basis, while it is understood that there is frustration over confusing training methods and team selections. Morale is slipping and what is perceived as a lack of clear communication has left some players feeling that they have no way of forcing their way into the Portuguese’s plans.
The table: Just to underline how important this game is to both sides, this is how the bottom five looks in the Premier League.
Defeat for West Ham tonight and it’s a seven-point gap to safety.
Callum Wilson is not in the West Ham squad tonight after playing the full 90 minutes against Wolves on Saturday. The 33-year-old striker could be on his way out of the club just five months after joining. Jacob Steinberg has the story:
It is unclear how quickly an agreement will be reached for Wilson to leave West Ham … There are indications the former Newcastle striker’s departure may come towards the end of the transfer window, but is unclear whether as free agent or if West Ham will try to sell him.
Team news: Castellanos starts for West Ham
Taty Castellanos has gone straight into the West Ham team following the completion of his £25m move from Lazio yesterday. Another signing, Pablo Felipe, is on the bench again after making his debut as a substitute on Saturday.
West Ham XI (4-3-3): Areola; Walker-Peters, Todibo, Mavropanos, Scarles; Fernandes, Soucek, Paquetá; Bowen, Castellanos, Summerville.
Subs: Hermansen, Kilman, Pablo, Rodríguez, Magassa, Potts, Earthy, Kanté, Mayers.
Matz Sels replaces John Victor in goal for Nottingham Forest after the Brazilian was injured at the weekend. Callum Hudson-Odoi is fit to start after an achilles injury.
Nottingham Forest XI (4-2-3-1): Sels; Williams, Milenkovic, Murillo, Aina; Domínguez, Anderson; Hutchinson, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Igor jesus.
Sub: Gunn, Morato, Type, Douglas Luiz, Kalimuendo, McAtee, Bakwa, Savona, Abbott.
Preamble
After an agonising hiatus of 48 hours, the Premier League is back. That’s right – we kick off Matchweek 21 tonight with what is, even at this stage of the season, a relegation six-pointer between West Ham and Nottingham Forest at the London Stadium.
It’s been a miserable season so far for West Ham and it got a whole lot worse on Saturday with that 3-0 defeat at Wolves. Nuno Espírito Santo is under massive pressure as he faces another one of his former teams tonight in Forest, who he guided into Europe last season.
Sean Dyche is the man in charge at Forest now and the new manager bounce that came after replacing Ange Postecoglou has subsided a bit. They have lost their last four and are four points above West Ham and the relegation zone.
It might not be a classic but it’s sure to be a significant night in the battle for survival. Email in with your thoughts.
Kick-off is at 8pm (GMT). Team news is coming shortly.
