Julen Lopetegui is eyeing improvements from West Ham as they target their first win of the season against Crystal Palace on Saturday.
The Spaniard's first game in charge ended in disappointment, as the Hammers conceded a late goal in a 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa last weekend.
Though West Ham have brought in a whole host of new signings, few featured at the London Stadium, but Lopetegui could choose to ring in the changes in an attempt to get their first points on the board under his charge.
"The Premier League is the most demanding competition around the world, so the little details are key," he said.
"It's true that we lost against one of the best teams in the Premier League in the last season.
"We have to keep the good things that we showed, and we did, and we have to improve the bad things to be more competitive."
Meanwhile, Palace also lost their opening game, going down 2-1 to Brentford after they had an early Eberechi Eze goal chalked out when the referee blew his whistle before the ball crossed the line.
Oliver Glasner has seen the Eagles go from strength to strength under his leadership, with only Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea earning more points than them since he took over in February.
The German was left frustrated by the manner of their defeat to the Bees and admitted there is still work for Palace to do to get back to the level they showed last season.
"We feel disappointed of losing the season opener," he told the BBC.
"It feels like we shouldn't lose the game. There were many situations where we did okay but know we can do better.
"In decisive situations, we were not on our top level."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Crystal Palace – Eberechi Eze
Eberechi Eze had more shots on matchday one than any other Premier League player (seven). It is the third time he has had 7+ shots in a Premier League game without scoring, the most of any Crystal Palace player on record (since 2004-05).
West Ham – Tomas Soucek
Despite losing to Aston Villa, West Ham had the second-highest expected goals total of any Premier League side on the opening weekend (2.5 behind Liverpool's 2.7).
Tomas Soucek was responsible for 1.1 of those with his five shots, though he failed to hit the target with any of them.
MATCH PREDICTION: CRYSTAL PALACE WIN
Palace have won their last two Premier League home games against West Ham, having won just one of their previous eight against them at Selhurst Park (drew two, lost five).
In fact, Palace's recent home form is impressive after they won their final four Premier League games of 2023-24 at Selhurst Park by an aggregate score of 16-2. The Eagles have not won five consecutive such games since October 2001 (a run of six), while they have never done so in the top-flight.
However, Palace have won just five of their last 25 Premier League games in August (drawn seven, lost 13). Indeed, in all months they have played at least 10 games in the competition, they have fewer wins (11) and their lowest win rate (21%) in August.
Meanwhile, West Ham lost 2-1 against Aston Villa in their opening Premier League match this season – no side has lost both of their opening two games in a single campaign more often than the Hammers (eight, level with Southampton).
The Hammers lost their last three Premier League games against fellow London sides in 2023-24, with the last two seeing them lose 5-2 at Crystal Palace and 5-0 at Chelsea. No team in English Football League history has ever conceded 5+ goals in three consecutive London derby matches before.
The last four Premier League meetings between Palace and West Ham at Selhurst Park have produced a total of 24 goals, an average of six per game (13 for Palace, 11 for West Ham). Both teams have scored at least twice in each of these four matches.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Crystal Palace – 43.6%
Draw – 25.4%
West Ham – 31%
Forest complete loan move for Villa defender Moreno
Nottingham Forest have signed Aston Villa full-back Alex Moreno on a season-long loan with a view to a permanent deal.
Moreno joined Villa from Real Betis in January 2023 and has made a total of 40 Premier League appearances for Unai Emery's men, including 21 last season.
He started 11 times last term but spent most of his time as a backup to Lucas Digne, who made 27 starts as Emery's team finished fourth to secure Champions League qualification.
He becomes Forest's eighth signing of the current transfer window, after Elliot Anderson, Nikola Milenkovic, Ramon Sosa, Jota Silva, Marko Stamenic, Carlos Miguel and Eric da Silva Moreiro.
Forest's chief football officer Ross Wilson said: "Alex is a player we have had a long-standing interest in so we are naturally all very happy to see him arrive at Nottingham Forest.
"He has amassed significant experience in LaLiga and the Premier League, and he brings all of that quality and experience to our group now."
Martinez eyes trophy with Aston Villa after contract renewal
Emiliano Martinez wants to win a trophy with Aston Villa after penning a new long-term contract with the club.
The Argentina goalkeeper has signed a new deal to remain at Villa Park until 2029, having impressed since joining the club from Arsenal in September 2020.
The World Cup winner is delighted with the constant progression of the club, culminating in Champions League qualification last season, but he still hopes to achieve more success in the coming years.
He told the club's website: "Since I joined the club, my dream was to be in the Champions League. We have achieved that. Like I said, the club is improving every year."
Martinez, who has won two Copa America titles with his national side along with the World Cup, now wants to translate his international success to the club stage, as Villa have been without a major honour since 1996.
He added: “I achieved everything in international football with Argentina and now I still think we can win a trophy here.
“That is something missing in this club. And I will have a go here in the next four years to achieve that.”
Speid welcomes Cavalier's 2-0 win over Mount Pleasant as a solid platform for Caribbean Cup campaign
Cavalier Head Coach Rudolph Speid says the 2-0 win over Mount Pleasant FA to kick off their 2024 Concacaf Caribbean Cup campaign provides a solid platform to build on in their charge to achieve long-term goals this season.
Christopher Ainsworth (ninth) and Shaquille Stein (25th) got the job done for Cavalier in a keenly contest encounter at Sabina Park on Tuesday.
“The win is very important, because when teams are in your zone and they’re from the same country or same city, it’s really a derby. It doesn’t matter how strong each team is, it’s a derby, and derby games are the most difficult games you’ll come up against, so getting the first win is always important,” Speid said in a post-game interview.
Cavalier, the reigning Jamaica Premier League (JPL) champions and runners-up in the 2023 edition of the Concacaf Caribbean Cup, were more purposeful at the start, and they were duly rewarded when Ainsworth converted from the 12-yard spot after Stein was felled inside the red zone by Jamoi Topey.
Mount Pleasant created a few half chances in their press for the equaliser, but they found Cavalier’s defenders and goalkeeper Jeadine White in defiant mode.
Stein later doubled Cavalier’s lead when he expertly headed home from Jalmaro Calvin’s weighted cross.
Try as they did, Mount Pleasant’s attackers couldn’t find a way past White, who ended the contest with six crucial saves, including a last-minute reflex stop diving low at his near post to deny Rayonne Mbougain in time added.
Cavalier also had their fair share of chances to add to their tally, the best of which fell to Kaile Auvray in the 49th minute, but Mount Pleasant’s custodian Tafari Chambers came up big to stop the close-range effort.
Speid lauded his team for a solid defensive effort, which ensured they sit atop Group A on three points heading into the second round of games on August 29.
Then, Cavalier will host Trinidad and Tobago outfit Police FC in Kingston, while Mount Pleasant FA will look to rebound against CFU Club Shield winners, Arnett Gardens FC, on August 27 at Sabina Park.
“We did not know what Mount Pleasant was going to do. We decided we were going to be tough on defence. The defence, including the goalkeeper, stood out. It is not easy to keep a clean sheet against those players from Mount Pleasant, as they can turn a game on its head,” Speid reasoned.
“So our concentration was spot on from minute one. Although we defended stoutly, we were positive all the time. We attacked when the occasion aroused, and we didn’t hesitate. We could have even scored two more,” he noted.
His counterpart Harold Thomas, who took over from Theodore “Tappa” Whitmore in June, believes his side lacked the hunger and conviction of their opponents.
“One of the things we have to do is look at the players who are hungry for it. You hear Cavalier’s approach to the game, they have a group of youngsters that don’t have the kind of reputation that our players have, but they’re hungry. They want to make a name for themselves,” Thomas stated.
“We need to find players who want to make a name for themselves or even those who have a name to improve their credibility. We know the quality of the players. There are some things we have to change, but the quality is there. The motivation will be a great factor because what we saw today (Tuesday) wasn’t a team as hungry as they should have been,” he added.
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