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22 min: Murillo sprays a ball out to Aina on the Forest right but Scarles and Todibo do well to stop things going any further. Hudson-Odoi then shanks a shot high and wide.
20 min: Walker-Peters sends Bowen down the right and his cross almost finds Castellanos. The West Ham fans then howl as nobody is there to tap in Walker-Peters’ excellent ball into the middle. Forest hang a couple of crosses into the box too but West Ham hold firm.
18 min: Paquetá and Castellanos combine on a West Ham break, allowing Summerville to drive through the middle of the Forest team. A couple of defenders sandwich him before he can get a clean strike away.
17 min: Forest try to establish themselves in the West Ham half but there is frustration as Igor Jesus comes short and does little with it. Not like a Dyche team to lack a focal point up top.
A huge goal for West Ham. Not pretty but they created their own luck with Summerville’s excellent delivery and Soucek’s vital flick-on. Murillo couldn’t do much about it.
GOAL! West Ham 1-0 Nottingham Forest (Murillo 13og)
It’s gone in! Summerville whips the corner to the near post, Soucek flicks it on and Murillo glances it past his own goalkeeper.
13 min: Hutchinson tries a Cruyff turn near his own corner flag but Scarles pokes the ball off the winger for a corner to West Ham …
11 min: Areola comes out to punch the corner away and Williams skews the follow-up wide.
10 min: What a save! Williams unleashes an arcing effort from the edge of the area and Areola sticks out a hand to stop it going in the top corner. Great strike but top goalkeeping.
8 min: Aina launches a long throw towards the D but it doesn’t threaten. The right-back is starting for a second time in a row since returning from a hamstring injury.
6 min: Castellanos shows for a Scarles throw and he lets the ball run to Summerville, who reaches the edge of the box and fires at Sels. Not the worst effort.
5 min: Some nice one-touch play gets the West Ham supporters off their feet. There are plenty of white empty seats around the London Stadium.
3 min: Summerville’s corner is headed away at the near post. Scarles pings the ball back into his own half where Fernandes collects.
2 min: Forest start brightly but the first opening is West Ham’s. Summerville breaks and feeds the ball into Castellanos’s path. Anderson gets back and concedes the corner.
KICK-OFF
West Ham get the ball rolling!
The teams are on their way out of the London Stadium tunnel. It’s slightly above freezing and rain, probably not snow, is forecast a bit later this evening. Kick-off is next.
Transfer window: While we wait for kick-off, why not have a look at the latest deals from across the men’s and women’s games with our sharp interactives:
A quick look at Taty Castellanos, who starts up front for West Ham.
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Position: Striker
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Age: 27
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Country: Argentina (2 caps)
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This season: Serie A – 11 games, 2 goals, 3 assists
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Previous clubs: Lazio, Girona, New York City, Montevideo City, Universidad de Chile
Nottingham Forest have lost four in a row under Sean Dyche and are yet to pull away from the relegation battle. The club’s player of the month for December, Ibrahim Sangaré, is still at the Africa Cup of Nations with Côte d’Ivoire.
Dyche wasn’t drawn into the ‘six-pointer’ debate in his pre-match press conference:
It’s an easy line to use. I’ve been in it so many years and we are only just at the halfway point so there is a lot more football to be played either way. It’s very helpful to win this game, quite obviously so that’s the challenge, go and win away from home.
West Ham are without a win in nine games and Nuno is under major scrutiny. His man-management and tactics have led to unrest among the West Ham squad, as Jacob Steinberg reported at the weekend:
Multiple sources with knowledge of the situation have described Nuno as distant and uncommunicative on a day-to-day basis, while it is understood that there is frustration over confusing training methods and team selections. Morale is slipping and what is perceived as a lack of clear communication has left some players feeling that they have no way of forcing their way into the Portuguese’s plans.
The table: Just to underline how important this game is to both sides, this is how the bottom five looks in the Premier League.
Defeat for West Ham tonight and it’s a seven-point gap to safety.
Callum Wilson is not in the West Ham squad tonight after playing the full 90 minutes against Wolves on Saturday. The 33-year-old striker could be on his way out of the club just five months after joining. Jacob Steinberg has the story:
It is unclear how quickly an agreement will be reached for Wilson to leave West Ham … There are indications the former Newcastle striker’s departure may come towards the end of the transfer window, but is unclear whether as free agent or if West Ham will try to sell him.
Team news: Castellanos starts for West Ham
Taty Castellanos has gone straight into the West Ham team following the completion of his £25m move from Lazio yesterday. Another signing, Pablo Felipe, is on the bench again after making his debut as a substitute on Saturday.
West Ham XI (4-3-3): Areola; Walker-Peters, Todibo, Mavropanos, Scarles; Fernandes, Soucek, Paquetá; Bowen, Castellanos, Summerville.
Subs: Hermansen, Kilman, Pablo, Rodríguez, Magassa, Potts, Earthy, Kanté, Mayers.
Matz Sels replaces John Victor in goal for Nottingham Forest after the Brazilian was injured at the weekend. Callum Hudson-Odoi is fit to start after an achilles injury.
Nottingham Forest XI (4-2-3-1): Sels; Williams, Milenkovic, Murillo, Aina; Domínguez, Anderson; Hutchinson, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Igor Jesus.
Sub: Gunn, Morato, Awoniyi, Douglas Luiz, Kalimuendo, McAtee, Bakwa, Savona, Abbott.
Preamble
After an agonising hiatus of 48 hours, the Premier League is back. That’s right – we kick off Matchweek 21 tonight with what is, even at this stage of the season, a relegation six-pointer between West Ham and Nottingham Forest at the London Stadium.
It’s been a miserable season so far for West Ham and it got a whole lot worse on Saturday with that 3-0 defeat at Wolves. Nuno Espírito Santo is under massive pressure as he faces another one of his former teams tonight in Forest, who he guided into Europe last season.
Sean Dyche is the man in charge at Forest now and the new manager bounce that came after replacing Ange Postecoglou has subsided a bit. They have lost their last four and are four points above West Ham and the relegation zone.
It might not be a classic but it’s sure to be a significant night in the battle for survival. Email in with your thoughts.
Kick-off is at 8pm (GMT). Team news is coming shortly.
