FPL two-week player punts: West Ham

Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers are only thinking about short-term transfer targets ahead of Saturday’s deadline, with unlimited transfers looming over the World Cup break.

So we’re only looking at Gameweeks 15 and 16 when it comes to players to bring in this week, with some of the teams with the more favourable two-week fixture runs shown below.

Above: How our Season Ticker looks when clubs are sorted by fixture difficulty over the next two Gameweeks

In this mini-series, we pick out some players to consider for a fortnight fling.

Having already looked at Brighton and Hove Albion assets, we now turn our attention to West Ham United.

• READ MORE: FPL two-week player punts: Brighton

WEST HAM’S UNDERLYING NUMBERS

Here we focus on West Ham’s underlying attacking and defensive numbers to see how they fare compared to other Premier League clubs over the last six matches.

In addition, we’ll also look at the Hammers’ home form in isolation, given that their next two fixtures are both at the London Stadium.

Overall, West Ham’s attacking numbers are encouraging, as they sit joint-third over the last six matches for expected goals (xG).

In that time, they have faced Manchester United (a), Bournemouth (h), Liverpool (a), Southampton (a), Fulham (h) and Wolverhampton Wanderers (h).

It is worth noting that a large chunk (3.04) of that xG total was accumulated in one match against Fulham, yet the fact they have racked up 17 or more shots in each of their three home games in the sample is impressive.

While West Ham sit mid-table for shots and shots on target conceded over the last six matches, they have generally been low-quality attempts.

That’s best summed up by their recent clash with Liverpool, when the Reds peppered their goal with 22 shots, yet their biggest chance carried an xG value of 0.37.

Outside of Europe, consistency has been a problem for West Ham this season, with just three wins in their last nine league matches leaving them three points above the drop zone.

However, their home form is improving, having won six consecutive home matches in all competitions and three in a row in the league.

Their defensive numbers in their last four home league matches particularly stand out (see below), as they have allowed their opponents just two big chances and 2.46 xG combined.

FPL TRANSFER TARGETS