West Ham 2020/21 Season Preview: Strengths, Weaknesses, Key Man & Prediction

West Ham's quest for something other than a Premier League relegation battle gets underway on September 12, when Newcastle visit the London Stadium to kick off the 2020/21 season.

Last season was one that brought misery, despair and tension for the club's supporters, as pre-season hopes of a push towards Europa League qualification were soon consumed with abject fear that relegation was a real possibility.

But David Moyes, brought back to the club in late December for a second spell in charge, did just about enough to undo all of Manuel Pellegrini's poor autumnal work, leading the Hammers to safety (largely) thanks to the post-lockdown goals of Michail Antonio.

The Scotsman is now looking to oversee a cultural change at the club; one that gives opportunities to young, up and coming players, rather than forking out a barrel load of money on untested foreign stars. But with finances restricted - to say the least - it may take a while for Moyes to get the balance of his squad to where he'd like it to be, which could result in another season of perceived underachievement and struggle.

Regardless of where they finish, this is an important year for West Ham as they celebrate their 125th anniversary.

Strengths

Aerial Ability

The 2019/20 season, frustratingly, highlighted the lack of real positives in West Ham's game, as contrasting styles of play made it difficult to establish what the team's core identity is.

That said, one facet of the Hammers' game that is an obvious strength is their ability in the air. Issa Diop, Angelo Ogbonna and Sebastien Haller were already a handful to deal from set pieces and long balls, but the addition of box-to-box midfielder Tomáš Souček has taken things to a whole new level.

The modern day Marouane Fellaini - that's who Moyes was thinking of when he signed him, at least - was a nuisance to every side West Ham came up against post-lockdown, and he scored vital goals against Chelsea, Newcastle and Watford to help the club stay up.

Versatility

West Ham's squad isn't blessed with a whole host of star players, but they do have a good number who can be jiggled around should the pack need to be reshuffled.

Declan Rice and Antonio are the two players who spring to mind when you mention versatility, but Pablo Fornals, Manuel Lanzini, Felipe Anderson and Andriy Yarmolenko can all play on either side of midfield or through the middle.

To what standard they play at in those roles is a question for another day.

Weaknesses

Squad Depth

Ask any West Ham fan across the land about squad depth, and they'll all tell you the same thing. There's just not enough of it.

At the time of writing, West Ham have one recognised striker on the books - Haller - and because of financial concerns, even he is available for transfer. We've touched on Antonio's versatility already, but the club can't expect to deliver anything meaningful this season if they're reliant on a player 'doing a good job' in a role that's not natural to him.

There's also a serious concern at the number of quality defenders at the club, notably at full back. Jeremy Ngakia and Pablo Zabaleta have gone, and although West Ham still have two options on either side, experience at the highest level is key.

Concentration

Every team is prone to making a mistake, or unnecessarily complicating things with poor decision making. West Ham are not only used to doing it, they're specialists in repeating the offence over and over again.

Leadership on the field doesn't appear to be a problem, but these issues continue to plague the club year after year. Something has got to change mentally if West Ham are to make strides forward.

Key Man

Scoring goals is what's going to keep West Ham afloat in the Premier League, so the onus is on Haller, Antonio, Jarrod Bowen and the rest of the club's attacking midfielders to deliver.

But the Hammers will get nowhere without a solid midfield foundation, which leads us back to the ever-improving Declan Rice. With Chelsea interested in taking him back to Stamford Bridge, West Ham will need to find a way to keep him 100% focussed on the job at hand, regardless of whether or not he's stated his commitment to the club.

If Rice's performances start to wane, West Ham could easily become overrun in midfield. Souček will play a key role too, but Mark Noble's legs really aren't up to 90 minutes of Premier League football week in and week out. Because of that, keeping the 21-year-old on the straight and narrow is essential.

Prediction

The bad news is that West Ham appear to have little to no money available to strengthen, so outgoings are the only way to fund bringing in new blood.

The good news is that even if the Hammers bring in just one or two new faces, they should have enough about them to stave off the threat of a relegation. Sadly, though, that's probably as good as it will get, and it will be a case of looking over the shoulder rather than chasing down top half ambitions.

Prediction: Low Mid-Table Finish