OPINION
West Ham United manager Manuel Pellegrini would be wise to hand rarely seen summer signing Ryan Fredericks a start against table-topping Liverpool on Monday night.
The former Fulham man has struggled for game time due to injury since his move across London, but his pace could be key in attempting to halt the Reds’ blistering attack and defying the odds against the title hopefuls.
Another innovation the Chilean should consider opting for is playing midfielder Declan Rice at centre back. The 20-year-old has experience of playing at the heart of the defence and Angelo Ogbonna’s struggles are such that he needs to be pushed further back.
Ogbonna and Pablo Zabaleta, the latter for Fredericks, should drop out, as should left back Arthur Masuaku and attacker Marko Arnautovic. If Aaron Cresswell is back to full fitness then he should undoubtedly replace Masuaku, while Arnautovic is unlikely to be fully fit.
Lukasz Fabianski picked up a slight knock against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Tuesday but if he is fit enough to play then he must start. As mentioned, Fredericks could turn out to be very useful in reducing the threat of the rapid Sadio Mane.
Rice needs to switch to a centre back role for the time being, that’s how bad Ogbonna has been. The Italian is simply a liability and, in a game the Hammers are expected to lose, it’s surely worth giving the youngster a shot at the back. Masuaku is also too unreliable to be trusted against an attack like Liverpool’s, meaning that Cresswell must come in.
It’s time that Pellegrini ditches the 4-4-2 and reverts to the 4-3-3 formation that proved successful earlier in the season. That means a three man midfield of Pedro Obiang in a deep role and Mark Noble and Robert Snodgrass further forward.
The attack should then feature Javier Hernandez in the number nine position, flanked by wingers Felipe Anderson and Michail Antonio, perfectly positioning Pellegrini’s team to hit the Reds on the counter attack.
