Adrian Clarke looks at key tactical points and players who can be decisive in Matchweek 18.
Team analysis: West Ham United
West Ham will feel they have sufficient attacking firepower to cause Manchester United major problems at London Stadium.
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Erik ten Hag’s men should feel a sense of pride at keeping a clean sheet at Anfield last time out, but the Hammers’ attacking trio of Lucas Paqueta, Mohammed Kudus and Jarrod Bowen will give them plenty more to think about.
Boasting seven goals and four assists between them across their last six Premier League matches, they are very much in form as a collective unit.
Paqueta the creative hub
No one across European football’s big five leagues has attempted more through-balls than West Ham’s Paqueta since the start of 2023/24.
Darting inside from the left, or popping up centrally, the Brazilian is always looking to pierce the opposition defence with an incisive pass.
We saw this in their 3-0 victory at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers when he fed Kudus with two magnificent balls that sent him clear of the visiting defence.
The moment West Ham turn the ball over, Paqueta is David Moyes’ go-to player for launching a penetrative attack.
Paqueta’s assists for Kudus
Surprisingly these were the first two assists Paqueta has supplied for his new Ghanaian team-mate, but moving forward it is a combination that is virtually guaranteed to bear fruit.
Those two passes were not classified as “through-balls” by Opta, but as you can see from this map below, he is exceptional at threading forward passes into positions where a team-mate can score goals.
Bruno Fernandes (105), Pascal Gross (88) and Dejan Kulusevski (73) are the only top-flight stars to have made more successful progressive passes than Paqueta’s 71.
Kudus a dual threat
Man Utd left-back Luke Shaw will have his hands full trying to shackle former Ajax star Kudus.
The hardworking 23-year-old has shown glimpses of top-drawer quality since joining the Hammers, scoring some outstanding individual goals.
He will make runs in beyond the last man as often as possible, but Kudus is also a player who can beat defenders with the ball at his feet.
He makes 21 ball carries per 90 minutes and has produced six shots and six key passes from those runs.
Statistically the Hammers’ new boy is second only to Jeremy Doku for completed dribbles.
Most successful dribbles 23/24
| Player | Per 90 |
|---|---|
| Jeremy Doku | 5.68 |
| Mohammed Kudus | 3.79 |
| Eberechi Eze | 3.60 |
Bowen’s central role
Moyes is currently deploying leading scorer Bowen as his centre-forward.
In that role the England international is more of a roving No 9, who will come short to link play between the lines, or move across the forward line looking to make runs down the side of defenders.
Very rarely does he stay in central areas and hold the ball up with his back to goal.
Bowen’s heat map from last weekend’s win against Wolves highlights how mobile and unpredictable his movement can be.
Man Utd’s central defenders will have to make a lot of decisions on whether to follow Bowen, or when to pass him on to a team-mate.
Chief playmaker Paqueta was always looking to slide forward passes into the feet of Bowen, who scored following a sharp one-two with the Brazilian on the halfway line against Wolves.
It will be vital for Man Utd’s midfielders to try and screen the service into him, as the 27-year-old is bang in form.
Tough test awaits
Both these teams are at their best on the counter-attack, so it will be fascinating to see who takes the lead in terms of possession.
Man Utd will want to add more quality to their forward play than we have seen of late, and defensively they must repeat the resilience levels they displayed at Anfield.
Messrs Paqueta, Kudus and Bowen are all playing well enough to deliver matchwinning quality in this match-up, so the visitors’ off-the-ball work must be on point.
Also in this series
Part 1: How Bailey has played his way into Emery's plans
Part 2: Liverpool's front three must step up to keep pace at the top