- West Ham United face Leeds United on Sunday
- The Hammers remain in the Premier League relegation zone
- Valentín Castellanos is a must-start for the final day game
On Tuesday night, West Ham United were granted an unexpected chance to revive their survival hopes. The Hammers, who still remain in the Premier League relegation zone, will enter the league’s final day with the opportunity to do the great escape following relegation rival Tottenham Hotspur’s 2-1 loss at Chelsea on Tuesday night.
A win at Stamford Bridge for Spurs would’ve relegated West Ham; however, Roberto De Zerbi’s 17th-place side remains within reach ahead of Sunday. Still, in the North Londoners’ hands – two points clear and boasting a significantly better goal difference – but, a tricky home game against Everton means that the fight is still on.
For Nuno Espírito Santo, the West Ham boss must be spot-on in his team selection if his side is to beat Leeds United at home. It can be argued that the Hammers’ current position is down to the Portuguese’s muddled thinking against Newcastle United, where he toggled the team’s formation during key moments.
Nuno can make up for the dismal perfomrance, with the selection of this forward.
Valentín Castellanos has shown that West Ham are more dangerous with him on the pitch
As stated, West Ham’s 3-1 defeat to Newcastle was characterised by poor management decisions. Apart from the formation changes, Nuno’s choice to go with Callum Wilson proved unsuccessful, as the English striker toiled in the opening stages before the man he replaced in the line-up, Valentín Castellanos, came on.
Castellanos has seemingly been bandied about in the criticism with fellow January arrival Pablo Feilpe, despite the pair’s clear differences in production. Since arriving from Serie A side Lazio in the winter window, he has generated 5.0 expected goals (the fourth-highest in West Ham’s squad) in his 16 Premier League appearances, compared to Pablo’s 0.8 per Fotmob.
Of course, Castellanos has operated as more of the focal point of the attack with Pablo mainly used in a supporting role, yet, as seen against Newcastle and Arsenal the game before, there’s a reason for that. Castellanos was the main threat when he came on at St James’ Park in the 26th minute, scoring an ingenious consolation goal in the second half. Pablo’s contribution in that game was an error that provided Newcastle with their third goal on the day.
Unlike 34-year-old Wilson, Castellanos can lead the team’s press, making them a more threatening opposition off the ball, even in Nuno’s pragmatic system. The Argentine didn’t score against Arsenal, and wasn’t on the pitch for the ruled-out equaliser, but he did keep the Gunners’ backline honest before the now-confirmed Premier League champions opened the scoring, when he wasn’t on the pitch.
Leeds United’s backline has been productive in the club’s run of form that has staved off relegation fears, keeping four clean sheets in eight games. However, it’s still a set of defenders that can be exposed by pace and skill, which Castellanos shows he has over his centre-forward competitors.
