Nuno Espirito Santo’s West Ham United are not only third-from-bottom in the Premier League in terms of points won.
The Hammers also rank 18th in another department; set-piece concessions.
At the time of writing – West Ham face Burnley at Turf Moor in Saturday’s 3pm kick-off – only Liverpool and Bournemouth have been breached more often from set-piece situations.
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Burnley v West Ham predicted XI graphic
And with a quarter of the Clarets goals this season coming from dead balls, Nuno Espirito Santo will no doubt have drilled into his players the importance of winning duels and competing for second balls on the bus up to Lancashire.
Axel Disasi could make his debut for West Ham United, probably alongside Konstantinos Mavropanos. The Frenchman and the Greek are undoubtedly Nuno’s best two centre-backs when it comes to winning headers. This physicality should give them the nod ahead of the, erm, ball-playing [?] Max Kilman as Jean-Clair Todibo misses out through suspension.
The first-team are not the only ones who have had difficulties with set-pieces though. A familiar issue reared its head for West Ham at Under-21 level on Friday night as Greg Lincoln’s previously in-form outfit were crushed 5-0 by London neighbours Fulham.
West Ham United U21s face a similar issue as Fulham rout exposes set-piece problems
alphonse areola in action for west Ham united
Photo by Ben STANSALL / AFP via Getty Images
Lincoln’s youngsters were on a ten-game unbeaten run in Premier League 2 when making the short journey to West London. Fulham would emphatically deliver the Hammers’ first defeat in four months.
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After a mistake from goalkeeper Tom Wooster gifted the Cottagers their opener, Fulham’s second came from a corner. So did their fifth.
“We started on the front foot with some good final-third entries and a few attempts at goal. Then the game turned on their first goal, which was disappointing. A couple of errors unfortunately led to it,” a frustrated Lincoln tells the official West Ham website.
“The second goal was from a set play. It’s something we’ve spoken about a lot this season, particularly in the senior competitions. It’s well documented that around 30 per cent of goals come from set plays, so it’s such an important part of the game.
“We have to continue to educate the players around that and develop them in both boxes. That was disappointing.
“At half-time we felt that if we got a goal back, we’d have a really good chance of turning it around. But instead, we conceded another poor goal on our part, although it was a good finish from their player.
“From there, the game probably ran away from us a little bit and we didn’t stick to our style and identity as well as we normally would. That’s certainly a learning point for us.
“As always with these games, there’s a lot to take from it. We’ll take the learning out of it. We’ve got a busy week coming up with good fixtures against Anderlecht and Leicester, and then the National League Cup semi-final against Tamworth.
“The important part for young, developing players is that we take the learning individually and collectively. We encourage the players, as we will the staff, to take the mirror first and identify areas where we can improve and get better. Ultimately, that’s the aim: to learn from these moments and improve going forward.
“It’s disappointing that the run comes to an end after some really good performances, but I’m sure we’ll be better and wiser for it in the long run.”
Axel Disasi should make a big difference to Nuno Espirito Santo’s defence
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Axel Disasi of Aston Villa looks on as he prepares to take a throw-in during the Premier League match between Manchester City FC and Aston Villa FC at Etihad Stadium on April 22, 2025 in Manchester, England.
Set-pieces have seldom seemed more important. West Ham’s first team have conceded 13 times from them this season alone, during a campaign in which long throws and pre-planned corner-kick routines have come to the fore.
On a more positive note, while the Hammers let in nine during their first nine games of 2025/26 – more than three times the next-worst side at the time – clear improvements have been made in this regard during the Nuno era.
Alphonse Areola has been a big upgrade on Mads Hermansen in this regard, that Brighton blunder aside. And after nine set-piece concessions in nine games, only four have come in the next 15. Nuno will be hoping that the physicality and the aerial qualities Disasi brings will provide further protection to the man between the sticks.
In comments that would have been music to fans’ ears, Chelsea loanee Disasi summed up his game in two words; ‘aggressive’ and ‘dominant’.
“I can’t wait to get going,” he said in the week. “I just want to bring my personality and my character on the pitch. I like to be dominant and aggressive, but at the same time, outside the pitch, I’m someone who can laugh with the guys and make jokes.
“I just want to bring myself and make sure that we achieve our goals.
“I would say that I’m aggressive and dominant,” the 27-year-old reiterated. “I love to attack as well with the ball when I have the space. I love to attack. I will just try to bring this to the team and show my character on the pitch and off the pitch.”
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