The Athletic’s West Ham United correspondent Roshane Thomas has tipped Sebastien Haller to start against Crystal Palace.
During the current round of Premier League fixtures, David Moyes’ Hammers host Roy Hodgson’s Eagles at the London Stadium.
One man who is looking likely to miss the clash is Michail Antonio, as he is still struggling with an injury issue.
Without Antonio, the only other out-and-out striking option available to Moyes is Ivorian forward Haller (as per Transfermarkt).
During the latest episode of The Athletic’s U Irons podcast, Thomas tipped Haller to be in pole position for the nod up front in the game against Palace.
He said: “I reckon [Haller will start] because I don’t think Moyes will rush back Antonio. I don’t think it’s worth the risk to rush him back.
“So, I think he’ll start again. Again, Moyes keeping the faith – I reckon it will be the same formation.
“So, once again, Haller has another chance to try and prove us wrong, show he can get a good run in the team, build on confidence, but he’s just not consistent, for me, that’s the frustrating thing about it.
“He had a few chances against Leeds and you’re thinking, ‘Oh, okay, not too bad,’ but he had four shots on target and didn’t put one of them away.”
TIF Thoughts on what Roshane Thomas said about Sebastien Haller…
As can be seen in what the journalist had to say, he believes that Haller will start against Crystal Palace as Moyes will not rush Antonio back to match action.
Thomas also did not seem overly impressed with the Ivorian striker’s recent performances for the Hammers due to the number of chances he has missed.
Should Sebastien Haller start against Crystal Palace?
No, he's not good enough
Yes, he's good enough
Haller has started in and played the full match in four of West Ham’s five previous league games and played 45 minutes in the other. During that time, he has scored just once and provided no assists (per Transfermarkt).
So, it is abundantly clear that the forward has not been bagging as much as he could have been when considering that he has averaged 1.6 shots per league game over the whole season and only netted twice (per WhoScored).
Hopefully, for the Hammers, the 26-year-old striker can begin delivering consistently soon.