Beginning a campaign before even the schools had broken up for the summer was supposed to give West Ham United a kick-start for their league campaign, yet they are caught between a rock and a hard place, facing the possibility of a third consecutive defeat when they arrive at Anfield today.
The combination of a weakened attack and leaky defence has added to an already daunting task against a Liverpool side who have not conceded and made an encouraging start to the season. Needs must for Slaven Bilic, the West Ham manager, in picking his tactics.
“If you want to call it parking the bus, you call it park the bus,” Bilic said. “But for me it’s defending behind the ball. Or park the bus, a double decker or triple decker. But that is what you ask from your players when your opponent has the ball. It’s a very demanding game we are asking against top players.”
Only three weeks ago, West Ham looked watertight and enjoyed good fortune on the counterattack in their 2-0 victory away to Arsenal. The saving grace could be again playing away from Upton Park, where they have conceded six times and lost to Bournemouth and Leicester City. The Croat believes that playing a final season at the ground is adding pressure.
“The question is the chicken or the egg?” he said. “We are trying to create something like a story that the guys are under more pressure because of the last season [at Upton Park]. Sometimes it is easier to play away. You are a little bit like a ‘bus’. You are not under pressure. After half an hour it is 0-0, you are a little happy, they are nervous.”
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Bilic says that Liverpool’s style complements the physical power of Christian Benteke, the centre forward, and that is something his West Ham defenders need to combat.
“The huge difference is the way their striker is playing,” he said. “He is really helpful for them because they don’t have to bomb forward with numbers to be dangerous. They can be dangerous up front but at the same time be solid and have a big strong and quick striker.”
Angelo Ogbonna will have to mark Benteke and he will not be daunted by the occasion.
“If I was going to be scared of something like that, I might as well go and become a dancer,” the central defender said. “Why should it scare me? It is just a game of football.”