Premier League: Heckingbottom Might Get the Axe Soon as He Hits Rock Bottom

West Ham United vs Sheffield United

Sheffield United’s stay in the Premier League might be a brief one given their poor stretch of Premier League 2023 results to start the 2023-24 campaign. With five losses and one draw so far, the Blades have found themselves at the bottom of the standings.

This weekend, they will face West Ham United on the road, and the SBOTOP betting odds don’t like their chances to win the said game, let alone maintain their top-flight status at the end of this season.

West Ham United are going to make it even more difficult for Sheffield United because they’re coming off back-to-back league losses against Manchester City and Arsenal, although that is nothing to be ashamed of.

Read more about these two teams ahead of Saturday through our match preview below.

Talking Points

West Ham United’s investments paying dividends

It’s safe to say that the Hammers benefited greatly from cashing in on Declan Rice, who was their team captain last season. The box-to-box midfielder was sold to Arsenal for £105 million after helping them win the Europa Conference League final last season, and they managed to bolster their depth after the big-money sale.

In lieu of the departed Rice, West Ham United brought in James Ward-Prowse, Mohammed Kudus, and Edson Alvarez, which were smart investments. Ward-Prowse and Kudus have already opened their accounts this season, while Alvarez beefs up their midfield and backline.

Ward-Prowse gives the Hammers a top creative outlet, and he’s a deadly set-piece taker. In his six appearances thus far, the former Southampton playmaker has notched two goals and five assists. Kudus also has two goals as of this writing.

With all of them in tow, David Moyes now has five high-quality midfielders to choose from in each and every contest. This is a great problem to have because he can afford to mix things up, depending on their matchup.

Against Lincoln City in last night’s EFL Cup third-round match, Moyes deployed Tomas Soucek, Mohammed Kudus, and Pablo Fornals in a diamond-like midfield formation. Lucas Paqueta, Edson Alvarez, and James Ward-Prowse will get more runs this Saturday since they were given the day off.

Heckingbottom fighting for his Sheffield United job

There’s a real possibility that Paul Heckingbottom could become the first Premier League boss to get sacked this season, especially following their 8-0 loss to Newcastle United, which featured eight different goal scorers.

Heckingbottom, who got the Blades promoted as runners-up in the Championship last year, has now managed just three victories from 16 total Premier League games as a manager. Assuming this troubling trend keeps up, Sheffield United fans might see a familiar face back at the helm soon.

Chris Wilder might make his sensational return to Bramall Lane, according to reports. During the 2019-20 season, he guided the Blades to a ninth-place finish but was eventually fired after a poor run of form in 2020-21.

History

West Ham United managed to score a league double over Sheffield United when they last met in the 2020-21 season after having won just one of their first six Premier League encounters between 1994 and 2020 (D2, L3).

Sheffield United’s last road victory against West Ham United was a 2-0 result in the Championship in January 2005. Since then, the Blades have won just one of their last 10 away league games at the London Stadium (D4, L5).

The Blades’ recent loss against Newcastle United is their toughest league defeat. There’s only one club in Premier League history that has lost by eight or more goals and then won their next game, which was Wigan in November 2009 (9-1 against Tottenham, then 1-0 against Sunderland).

Moreover, the Hammers have won their last six Premier League matches against newly promoted sides since a 1-0 loss to Nottingham Forest last August.

Betting Tip 

It’s no surprise that the hosts are favoured by the Premier League 2023 odds to win on Saturday. West Ham United are at 1.44 odds to win, whereas a rare Sheffield United victory is priced at 5.80 and a draw is pegged at 4.20 in the 1X2 market.

Other than going for a Hammers win, which is the safest bet, you can also go for Total Goals 2-3 at 2.05 because there will be a handful of goals to come out of this contest, although not too many.

If you’re looking for a more generous payout, then why not go for either Correct Scores of 1-0, 2-0 (6.80 each) or 3-0 (10.50) in favour of the Hammers too?

 

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