It will be interesting to see how the Hammers perform on Sunday after such an emotional final victory at the Boleyn Ground on Tuesday over Manchester United. Travelling to the Britannia Stadium to play Stoke City, the stakes are just as high as they were midweek in the final match at Upton Park.
A win over the Potters will secure at least a sixth place finish in the Premier League, and with that, Europa League football to open the Olympic Stadium next season.
Stoke will want to finish on a high, but all we have to do is try to replicate the performance from Tuesday night and win the game. That will give us minimum sixth and if Manchester United slip up, we can move to fifth.
West Ham will have to win without the help of Hammer of the Year Dimitri Payet, who, as The West Ham Way reports, has picked up a knock in training. The injury is reported to be minor and will not keep the 29-year-old Frenchman out of the French squad for the UEFA Euro Cup this summer.
The absence of Payet will leave a wing role open for the taking. Michail Antonio moving up field to play his more natural wing position instead of right back appears likely. Antonio scored the tying goal on Tuesday before Winston Reid won the match in the 80th minute.
If Antonio moves up field, James Tomkins will be available to play right back. Tomkins featured in the tail end of Tuesday’s match against Manchester United.
Payet has been involved in 11 goals in his last 12 Premier League appearances, with three goals and eight assists. The absence of the French international will be missed against a Stoke City side which has not kept a clean sheet in their last nine league matches.
It will be an opportunity for West Ham to display that they are much more than a one-man force. Previously in the year, Payet missed seven matches due to an ankle injury. West Ham won just one of the seven matches.
West Ham will likely have Diafra Sakho and Andy Carroll playing forward together on Sunday. Sakho opened scoring at Upton Park on Tuesday, despite playing further out on the right wing than his accustomed middle attacking zone.
Adrián will miss his third consecutive match, suffering from a calf injury. Darren Randolph will be in goal for the final game of the season.
Stoke City are winless in their last six matches, but, as Bilic points out, they have faced an unlucky draw of teams. “Stoke have been on a bad run, but I’ve watched their games and it’s like they’ve played teams that have been on fire. We are expecting a difficult game and we will have to be on top of our game to do the job,” Bilic said.
“It would be nice to have Europa League football because we have had a good season and it would be good to get something out of it.”
Prediction: West Ham 2-0 Stoke City.
West Ham are unbeaten in five away league games, scoring at least two goals in each of those matches. The trend will continue on Sunday as the Hammers fight to secure a Europa League spot, either through fifth or sixth place in the Premier League.
