The Dugout Discussion – West Ham vs Sunderland

In a Gameweek that’s limited to eight fixtures due to the Capital One Cup final, West Ham United and Sunderland get us underway at Upton Park. The Irons are unbeaten on home turf since August, while the Black Cats arrive in decent form, having picked up four points in their last two league matches against Liverpool and United.

West Ham occupied the middle of the pack with regards to their attacking output over the last four Gameweeks, mustering six goals, five big chances and 17 shots on target. As for their creative spark, only three teams tallied more key passes (50) during that window. From a defensive standpoint, Slaven Bilic’s troops conceded the third-fewest shots inside the box (23) and joint-third-fewest big chances (four), which instils confidence in their clean-sheet prospects.

Given that they ranked in the bottom five for shots inside the box (25) across the past four Gameweeks, Sunderland would have been content with a five-goal haul. Despite matching up against both Manchester clubs and Liverpool in that quartet of fixtures, the Wearsiders displayed impressive resolve, charting in the bottom half for shots inside the box conceded (29) and big chances surrendered (five).