West Ham have a long way to go to have turned a corner this season despite the win over Manchester United.
That is the view of former player turned pundit Chris Sutton, who feels that West Ham were lucky to have beaten the Red Devils last weekend, following a 1st half in which they should have been out of sight.
Julen Lopetegui’s side now head to Nottingham tomorrow to take on an in-form Forest side, who are expected to provide a stern test for our Hammers as we look to build on the win last week and push on after a slow start this season.
Sutton, who was reporting on BBC Sport, has predicted that West Ham will walk away empty handed from the City Ground tomorrow, feeling that they are too settled to be beaten by a Hammers side who have yet to settle under Lopetegui since his arrival in the summer.
“West Ham got a good result against Manchester United last week which will have done them a lot of good, but I still feel they were fortunate to win that game,” said Sutton.
“I’m not talking about their late penalty that gave them victory, more the fact United should have been out of sight by half-time. So, am I convinced the Hammers have turned thing round under Julen Lopetegui? No, not at all.
“In contrast, Nottingham Forest are flying and I really like the way they are playing this season – they have a nice balance to their team.
“I was born in Nottingham and used to support Forest as a kid and, the way they are playing, I am going to go back to supporting them.
“You can call me a fair weather fan if you want, but I like forests – I am a big fan of Sherwood on iPlayer too – and I like woods too, especially Chris Wood.
“The ‘Wood-chopper’ is one of the most under-rated strikers of the Premier League era. I am backing him to score again, and Forest to win again.”
Sutton’s prediction: 2-1