BBC Sport pundit Mark Lawrenson has been left flummoxed by the up and down performances of West Ham this season as he delivers his prediction for the clash against Huddersfield.
The Hammers are pushing for a top ten finish as they head into the final weeks of the campaign but were left shocked by Cardiff City last weekend, succumbing to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of the relegation battlers.
Expecting Manuel Pellegrini’s side to bounce back with a 2-0 win versus the Terriers, Lawrenson could not understand why they were struggling to put in consistent performances.
He wrote in his column for BBC Sport: “West Ham had been much improved recently before they went to Cardiff last time out, but they were basically nowhere to be seen in Wales. They were awful. How do you explain that? How can a team look like a really good side for four weeks, and then put in a performance like that?
“It is not the first time this season that the Hammers have been playing well, then chucked in a display like that, but it does seem to happen more when they are on the road.
“It won’t happen again against Huddersfield at home, surely? I am sure the Terriers will put up a good fight, but Manuel Pellegrini’s side should be too good for them.
Opinion
Lawrenson is saying what all the West Ham fans will have been thinking last weekend. Things looked to be on the up for the east Londoners but they were brought crashing back down to earth with a performance which was well below the standards that the supporters have come to expect this season. Such inconsistency is going to end up costing the Irons in the long run and Pellegrini has got to find out why they struggled to perform against a side who are languishing near the relegation zone. His side cannot be in the business of giving charity, in the form of Premier League points, to those below them or they will eventually end up joining the battle at the bottom. It was not good enough and an all but relegated Huddersfield side could well sniff the chance of blood this weekend. The Hammers need to do the basics against the Terriers and get back to winning ways.