West Ham United have seen some improvement recently under manager Julen Lopetegui.
The Hammers outclassed Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1 at the London Stadium before playing out a 1-1 draw with Bournemouth last Monday.
West Ham will look to build on their recent positive results with a victory against Brighton & Hove Albion this weekend.
Lopetegui must unleash Niclas Fullkrug in Saturday’s game
Fullkrug, who is nicknamed ‘heading monster’ for his aerial prowess, joined the Irons in the summer for a £27 million fee. But he has endured a difficult start to life in England, with the striker yet to make a Premier League start due to injury issues.
He is now back in contention, and looked promising in his last two brief cameos.
We believe Lopetegui must start the 31-year-old to win against Brighton this weekend.
With Michail Antonio out for at least a year after a horror car accident, Jarrod Bowen operated as a centre-forward against Bournemouth. But the England international didn’t look very comfortable in that role and failed to make an impact.
Fullkrug has become injury-prone, but he is undoubtedly a top goalscorer.
Last season, he scored 16 goals in 46 appearances across all competitions for Borussia Dortmund, helping his team reach the Champions League final.
His stints at Dortmund and Werder Bremen saw him bagging 64 goals in 167 senior appearances.
Fullkrug lacks speed but is very lively in the box. He is dominant in the air, and uses his physicality to make things stick up top before bringing others into play.
If the German plays on Saturday, there is good chance West Ham will secure maximum points against Brighton.
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Stats from Transfermarkt
