It has been pointed out that although West Ham finished ninth they only won five of their 25 matches in all competitions since January. Their single victory in their last eight fixtures was against Luton Town and only they and the other two relegated clubs conceded more than the 74 goals against West Ham last season.

Summer signing Rodriguez and Edson Alvarez have not yet gelled as a midfield partnership. Their lack of pace was exploited in the last two games. A possible solution could be playing Carlos Soler, the season-long loan signing from Paris Saint-Germain, alongside Alvarez.

West Ham manager Julen Lopetegui jokingly ruled himself out of his side's next game after ending up on crutches following their heavy League Cup loss away to Liverpool. The Spaniard hobbled around West Ham's training ground on Thursday and could still be using crutches for the Premier League match at London rivals Brentford on Saturday.