Paul Merson has predicted West Ham to lose when they travel to West Brom on Saturday.
The Hammers make the trip to the Hawthorns for a Premier League clash and will be looking to kick on after their first win of the season against Huddersfield on Monday.
Slaven Bilic’s side lost their opening three league matches, but the return of striker Andy Carroll coincided with a 2-0 win at home to Huddersfield.
Sky Sports pundit Merson has tipped West Ham to lose 1-0 at the weekend and said that West Brom should be able to nullify the threat of Carroll.
“West Brom were poor against Brighton, it was like they thought they would just turn up and not lose, but they were bad until they went 3-0 down, then they had a go,” Merson told Sky Sports.
“West Ham got a good result on Monday, but a lot for them depends on Andy Carroll. I think West Brom have the players who could cope with him.”
West Ham were hopeful of competing for a European spot this campaign after settling at the London Stadium, but will need to also improve on their away performances.
The opening defeats were all on the road and they also lost on their last visit to West Brom 4-2 last season.
OPINION
The importance of Carroll’s return to the side can’t be reiterated enough and just his presence alone shone through against Huddersfield. The 28-year-old could have another big role to play this weekend, but it may actually be team-mate Javier Hernandez who can cause the most damage. The strong West Brom defence will relish the aerial battles with Carroll, where the pace and trickery of Hernandez could be a real threat to them. Meanwhile, West Ham’s defence also need to start putting in some consistent performances after a first clean sheet last weekend. Joe Hart is good enough to become a vital component for them and just needs the confidence of a few wins behind him.