Guffwatch

Unpacking the West Ham news cycle.

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Queens Park Rangers Match (h)

Started Last Movement

The guessing is over: Tomáš Souček starts as West Ham host QPR on Friday at 8pm. Nuno has also named Manor Solomon and Dinos Mavropanos in the XI, with Alphonse Areola on the bench.

West Ham are unbeaten in six league matches, while Keiber Lamadrid is ruled out and Mohamadou Kanté is suspended. The club will honour Luděk Mikloško before kick-off.

No-Guff Summary

  • Tomáš Souček starts against QPR in his first West Ham matchday squad of the season.
  • West Ham's XI includes Solomon and Mavropanos; Areola and Veltman are among the substitutes.
  • Lamadrid is ruled out and Kanté is suspended.
  • West Ham host QPR at 8pm after six league matches unbeaten, with a tribute to Luděk Mikloško before kick-off.
Development Updated

West Ham's form faces a QPR restart test

West Ham return from the international break in form, and Friday's home match against QPR will test whether they can keep it going. Kirk Blows writes in West Ham Till I Die that they took 13 points from their last 15 and lost only once in eight matches. Their previous game ended 2-2 at Millwall after they trailed by two at half-time.

Blows draws a parallel with West Ham's 2-1 extra-time FA Cup win over QPR earlier this year, which preceded three wins in four. That run did not prevent relegation. His point now is simpler: after a three-week pause, West Ham need to resume the momentum they showed before it.

Sources

  • West Ham Till I Die (opens in a new tab) — Argues that West Ham need to pick up where they left off against Millwall when they host QPR, drawing parallels with the run of results that followed their earlier FA Cup win over QPR.
  • West Ham World (opens in a new tab) — Reports that Jarrod Bowen is averaging a shot or chance created every 13 minutes in the Championship this season, the best rate in a full season since Saïd Benrahma's 2018-19 campaign.