Leeds United will face Premier League relegation rivals West Ham United at Elland Road on Friday night.
Leeds United will hope to bounce back from their defeat at Burnley when they face another relegation rival later this week as West Ham United make the trip to Elland Road on Friday night.
There was major disappointment and frustration for Daniel Farke and his players as they fell to a 2-0 loss at Turf Moor and left themselves sitting just three points and three places above the Premier League relegation zone ahead of their meeting with the Hammers.
That points gap could have closed further by the time kick-off arrives at Elland Road if West Ham can claim all three points from their home game with Brentford on Monday night. However, no matter what happens at the London Stadium, both the Whites and the Hammers will believe Friday night’s game could be pivotal in the battle for survival.
Leeds will rely on their key players and will hope the likes of Anton Stach and Dominic Calvert-Lewin can rise to the occasion - but who has impressed for their visitors? We enlist the help of the stats experts at WhoScored to see who has impressed for the Hammers so far this season.
Jarrod Bowen
Forest and West Ham face off this weekendplaceholder image
Forest and West Ham face off this weekend | AFP via Getty Images
We may as well start with the man many believe to be the Hammers most important player. The England international has certainly lived up to that tag so far this season as he has provided the highest average match rating so far this season with an average of 6.95 out of ten. Bowen is also the Hammers top goalscorer with three goals in seven appearances ahead of Monday night’s home game with Brentford and he is the main attacking threat with his shots per game (2.1), dribbles per game (1.1) and total shots this season (15) all rated in the top three in the West Ham squad.
One factor that should be taken into account ahead of Friday’s game is just where Bowen will feature as Nuno Espirito Santo continues to deal with the absence of Germany striker Niclas Fullkrug. Former Newcastle United frontman Callum Wilson is yet to find his stride this season and there have been some suggestions either Bowen and Lucas Paqueta could lead the line at Elland Road.
Konstantinos Mavropanos
Mavropanos in action against Liverpool.placeholder image
Mavropanos in action against Liverpool. | AFP via Getty Images
The former Arsenal and Stuttgart defender sits narrowly behind Bowen in the Hammers average WhoScored match ratings this season after returning a rating of 6.76 in his five appearances in the Premier League. The Greek centre-back sits behind his team-mates in average tackles per game but sits firmly at the top of the rankings in average clearances (8.4), blocks (0.8) and interceptions (1.4) per game, showing he is an excellent reader of the game. It would be a stretch to describe Mavropanos as a threat or perhaps even as a key player within the West Ham side - but the stats appear to show that he has quietly impressed during a challenging start to the season.
Lucas Paqueta
Wharton has an outside chance of returningplaceholder image
Wharton has an outside chance of returning | Getty Images
Much like Bowen, the Brazilian could well feature in a more advanced role on Friday night if Nuno Espirito Santo opts against handing a start to summer signing Callum Wilson or Northern Ireland youngster Callum Marshall. No matter where he plays, the former Lyon star will be a threat and there is reason why the likes of Manchester City and Newcastle United have shown an interest in securing his services in recent years.
Paqueta has two goals in his seven league appearances and makes more key passes on average than his team-mates (1.6 per game). The Brazil international also sits in second place in the average match rating table with 6.89 and only Mavropanos has made more passes on average in each game this season.
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