As West Ham get ready for ‘El Sackico’ on Monday night, Julen Lopetegui he will devise a plan to beat Wolves and look to keep a job. The Hammers are in 14th place Premier League after 14 games, while Wolves are currently in 19th place, conceding four goals in each of their last two games.
Whichever side loses will likely see a change in the managerial hot seat as both managers are under huge pressure, making this a real six-pointer.
Wolves have already conceded the most goals in the Premier League this season sent 36 times in just 14 games. However, they have still shown an ability to find the back of the net, scoring 22 goalsand one man in particular has been a key figure in this.
Matheus Cunha’s form for Wolves
Matheus Cunha has made 15 appearances this season for Wolvesscoring seven goals and providing three assists, totaling 1,177 minutes on the pitch so far.
The 25-year-old Brazilian is clearly the main man for Gary O’Neil’s side and by stopping him, you stand a very good chance of halting any progress they try to make.
Fortunately for Lopetegui, he has the perfect player to play opposite Kunia in order to prevent him from taking over the game on the left side.
This player happens to be the one who was once described as “the best one-on-one defender in the world” by James Madison.
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How West Ham could stop Mateusz Kunia
West Ham completed the signing of Aaron Wan-Bissaka from Manchester United last summer, joining the Hammers for a fee of about 15 million £. Since joining the club, the defender has made 14 appearancesscoring two goals and contributing to four clean sheets.
On Tuesday night, Wan-Bissaka was moved to left-back, allowing Vladimir Coufal to start at right-back against Leicester City. However, with Cunha starting mainly on the left, it is essential that Lopetegui deploys Wan-Bissaka back to his natural side in order to nullify their biggest threat.
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Wan-Bissaka vs Coufal comparison |
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|---|---|---|
|
Statistics (per 90 minutes) |
Wan-Bissaka |
He stepped back |
|
Goals + assists |
0.15 |
0.09 |
|
Progressive Carries |
3.06 |
1.39 |
|
Progressive passes |
4.96 |
4.17 |
|
Shots Total |
0.53 |
0.26 |
|
Pass keys |
0.74 |
0.56 |
|
Actions to create shots |
3.14 |
1.67 |
|
Tackling |
2.07 |
1.11 |
|
Block |
0.91 |
0.56 |
|
Wiretapping |
1.76 |
0.78 |
|
Statistics taken from FBref |
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When analyzing the key metrics between Wan-Bissaka and Coufal, the former comes out on top in every single metric, providing more progression, better performance and a greater volume of defensive actions for the side.
So far this season, the former United man has managed to add an extra layer to his game, often known for his defensive skills but showing he can also influence play going forward, scoring in back-to-back Premier League games .
With Cunha often starting on the left this season, looking to drift between wide areas and halves, the presence of Wan-Bissaka will be needed to deal with that threat down the left, forcing Cunha to either drop it . teammates or leave to other areas of the field to influence play.
