Nottingham Forest-West Ham United Preview

David Moyes is hopeful a strong run of form at the London Stadium could pull West Ham clear of danger, starting with Saturday's relegation six-pointer against Nottingham Forest.

West Ham will begin Saturday's game inside the Premier League's relegation zone, five points adrift of Forest, following last week's London derby defeat at Tottenham.

While the Irons were beaten 1-0 by Forest in August's return fixture, they have earned four points from their last two contests on home soil, and Moyes knows they need to make the London Stadium a fortress.

"There is still a lot to play but they are getting bigger because there are not as many to play as there were at the start," Moyes said.

"We played Forest in the first away game of the season, and it was a tight game, and things on the day just did not go for us.

"We've got to hope that we can turn that around and pick up these three points.

"It's hugely key that we try and win that game. Our home form in the last two games has seen us draw with Chelsea and beat Everton, so hopefully we can keep a good vibe going at home."

Forest counterpart Steve Cooper, meanwhile, is targeting an improvement on the road after seeing his team win 19 of their 25 points this term at the City Ground.

"We know our away form isn't as good as we'd have liked it to have been, and it's something that we have to address," he said.

"Every game is different and it changes from week to week but we like a challenge, we like to tackle things that need tackling and playing away from home is one of them.

"We want a high performing and demanding culture here and for me, part of that is addressing the things that need to get better."

West Ham - Danny Ings

West Ham have an expected goals tally of 29.6 in the Premier League this term, but have scored just 19 goals. Having been signed to solve their goalscoring woes and lead them away from danger, Ings will be hoping to get off the mark for his new club in this huge fixture.

Nottingham Forest - Chris Wood

Forest striker Wood - who scored his first goal for the club against Manchester City last time out - has scored more Premier League goals against West Ham than he has any other opponent (seven), though six of those efforts came in his first five games against the Hammers, with just one arriving in his subsequent five.

West Ham have won seven of their last eight Premier League home games against promoted sides (L1) - including the last four in a row. With Forest tending to earn their best results at home this campaign, Moyes' men will be considered favourites.

However, the hosts have won just one of their last 11 Premier League games (D3 L7), and only Southampton (15) have lost more Premier League matches than West Ham's 13 this term.

Forest have only been beaten once in their last six Premier League games (W3 D2), and if they can find a way to carry their home form onto the road, they should soon pull clear of the basement battle.

West Ham50.7 per cent

Nottingham Forest21.6 per cent

Draw 27.7 per cent

Updated February 24, 2023