2nd November 2025 Daniel Luker (@danielluker_)
By Louis Nixon
Another fixture means that the Hammers fans will eagerly have to wait for 12:45 today to find out the dreaded lineup in which for the last two fixtures it’s caused some unwanted names to appear.
However, whilst some positions are a no-brainer, not necessarily to do with the quality, but more so because there’s no one else to take the place, the one area for choice that we do have is the midfield.
Recent appearances of Andy Irving and Guido Rodriguez have received a large amount of negative comments, as too with Tomas Soucek, also receiving mixed reviews from fans. Subsequently meaning it was quickly becoming apparent that a midfield of Potts, Magassa and Fernandes is a ‘fan favourite’.
After a dismal starting squad against Leeds, towards the end of the game, which saw Potts, Magassa and Fernandes all come on, it showed fans a sense of hope and provided us a chance, which led to us getting a consolation goal through a guided header from Fernandes himself.
Those last 10 minutes with those three on the field gave us the only bit of hope we’ve seen throughout this rough period, and in light of going forward and trying to start striving towards results, it has to be those three going forward.
The biggest trouble with that starting three midfield means it would require Paqueta to be dropped, and seeing as Nuno has spoken highly of the Brazilian in recent interviews, as well as him officially beating the court case entirely, it might give him a sudden boost in confidence.
Numerous tough calls to make come Sunday afternoon, but a breath of fresh air seeing Potts, Magassa and Fernandes just might be an answer to one of our many issues.