West Ham United have been handed a huge boost ahead of their upcoming Premier League fixture this Saturday.
What’s the latest?
That’s according to Tom Clark’s recent report for Football.London, in which the West Ham correspondent revealed that both Kurt Zouma and Tomas Soucek are back in contention for the trip to Manchester United this weekend, as the duo are set to return to training this week following their respective recoveries from injury and illness.
Central midfielder Soucek has been unavailable for selection for the Hammers’ last two fixtures after falling ill due to the ongoing viral pandemic, while centre-back Zouma has been absent for six weeks after picking up a hamstring injury in the 3-2 win over Chelsea in December.
Fans will be buzzing
Considering just how important both Soucek and Zouma are within David Moyes’ squad, the news that the duo could make a return to first-team football this weekend is sure to have left the London Stadium faithful buzzing.
Indeed, over Zouma’s 11 Premier League appearances this season, the £28.8m-rated defender has helped his side keep two clean sheets and scored one goal, as well as making an average of 1.2 interceptions, 0.6 tackles, 5.2 clearances and winning 60% of his duels per game.
These returns have seen the £120k-per-week man average a SofaScore match rating of 6.91, ranking him as the Hammers’ joint 10th-best player in the top flight of English football.
Meanwhile, over Soucek’s 20 league outings, the £40.5m-rated midfielder has scored three goals, registered one assist and created one big chance for his teammates, as well as making an average of 1.5 interceptions, 2.3 tackles, three clearances and winning 6.7 duels per fixture.
These metrics have seen the £47k-per-week man average a SofaScore match rating of 6.99, ranking him as Moyes’ seventh-best performer in the division.
As such, it is clear for all to see that the return of both players will come as a huge boost to West Ham’s chances of leaving Old Trafford with all three points on Saturday afternoon – a result that would very much strengthen the Hammers’ top-four credentials this season.
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