West Ham have started the season in catastrophic fashion, conceding 11 goals in three games.
**Graham Potter**‘s side have mostly looked flat, slow and often clueless defensively in defeats to Sunderland, Chelsea and Wolves.
While eyes are focused sharply on the Hammers’ defenders as a result, it is the midfield which has arguably been the biggest problem up to this stage.
A combination of Guido Rodriguez, James Ward-Prowse and Tomas Soucek represents a midfield which lacks pace, creativity and mobility, which has made it very easy for teams to run through them.
So it was very clear the club had to bring in at least two midfielders before the end of the transfer window in order to fix this major issue.
Thankfully, one is already through the door. Mateues Fernandes, 21, was announced in a £38m deal from Southampton on Friday and is the exact kind of profile of midfielder Potter needed if he is continue with his favoured three-at-the-back system.
Up to this stage, Potter has opted to use a 3-5-2 formation but this weekend, following Fernandes’ arrival, we might see a change to the 3-4-2-1 formation we’ve seen often in the past from Potter teams.
Fernandes’ inclusion means there will be a lot more dynamism in midfield, allowing for the likes of Jarrod Bowen and Lucas Paqueta to play more creative roles behind Niclas Fullkrug up front.
There is a lot of pressure on Potter to get a result against Nottingham Forest on Sunday afternoon but it is already a big ask given the form Forest have been in over the last two years.
If anything, as long as there is an improvement in the overall performance of his West Ham players this weekend then that might go some way in alleviating the pressure he is currently under.
So, with the above in mind, this is the starting XI Potter could choose to go with at the City Ground this weekend…
West Ham predicted XI v Nottingham Forest