West Ham ended their season on a high as they beat FA Cup finalists Watford 4-1 at Vicarage Road. Here are our talking points from the game.

A tale of two clubs: Watford started the season with four straight wins while West Ham started theirs with four straight defeats. The two teams were 10th and 11th going into this fixture, but the Hammers secured a top ten finish at the expense of the Hornets with this 4-1 victory. If Watford had avoided defeat, it would’ve been their first top-ten finish in the top flight since Graham Taylor did so in the mid 1980’s. Instead, the Hornets had to be content with a spot in the bottom half of the table.

The red card that changed the game: The 4-1 end scoreline was a flattering one to the Hammers. Watford had dominated the first half, but trailed 2-0 at the break. They pulled one back immediately from kickoff after the interval and were looking dangerous before Holebas’ red card (on his 100th Premier League game) changed the complexion of the game. It was perhaps a slightly harsh one, but his dismissal snuffed out any hopes the Hornets might have had of winning the game. Felipe Anderson started to pull the strings for West Ham after Holebas’ dismissal and worse, Javi Gracia’s side may be without their influential left back for the FA Cup final against Man City.

Watford fans would’ve also had their hearts in their mouths after Etienne Capoue’s late challenge on Mark Noble, but fortunately for them, Chris Kavanagh deemed it worthy of only a yellow. Capoue, like Holebas, was playing a landmark game- his 150th Premier League appearance.

Marko Arnautovic finishes as the club’s top scorer: At 2-1, Felipe Anderson’s shot beat Ben Foster, only for the woodwork to deny the Brazilian. It however rebounded for Arnautovic to score, and the Austrian made no mistake. If Anderson had scored, he would’ve finished as West Ham’s top league scorer for 2018/19, and the only one to get into double digits, but as it so happened, that honour went to Arnautovic.

While Anderson fell a bit off the pace in the second half of the season, the Brazilian has had a very successful 2018/19 for West Ham, and fans will be hoping that he can kick on in 2019/20.

A poor game for Pablo Zabaleta: The veteran Argentine would perhaps not have anticipated coming on in this game, but an unfortunate injury to Ryan Fredericks necessitated his early introduction. He had a game to forget, tormented by Deulofeu’s pace, and it was his misplaced back pass that allowed Watford to score just 11 seconds from second half kickoff.

Another good game for Mark Noble: West Ham’s veteran skipper scored two goals- one a very nice individual goal to open the scoring for the Hammers, as well as the fourth and final goal for them from the penalty spot. Also had a pivotal part to play in the Lanzini goal. All in all, a fantastic day at the office for the medio.

The final day of the 2018/19 Premier League season is upon us, and West Ham will finish their engagements with this clash away at Watford. Beating the Hornets will seal a top 10 finish for Manuel Pellegrini’s men.

Javi Gracia’s Watford will have one eye on their upcoming FA Cup final against Man City- it perhaps comes as no surprise that they’ve won just once in their last five games (that too against relegated Huddersfield) once they beat Wolves in their Cup semi-final.

Let’s take a look at what the pundits have to say about this Round 38 clash.

Mark Lawrenson: Lawro says that every time he thinks West Ham are going to kick on, they go missing. Notes that Watford will seal a top 10 finish in the top flight for the first time since 1986/87 if they avoid defeat on Sunday afternoon, and has backed the Hornets to do exactly that with his 1-1 prediction.

Celeb opponent: Lawro’s celeb opponent this weekend is hip hop star Loyle Carner, who has also chosen a 1-1 draw. [Read more…]