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West Ham host Derby County in what is a crucial match for the future of Nuno Espírito Santo. After a very shaky start to the season with a loss to Charlton Athletic and draws against Burnley and Watford, the Hammers seemed to turn a corner on Tuesday night with a 4-2 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers. However, ahead of the game, a lot of West Ham fans thought this style of game would suit Nuno’s style of play, and it did. Wolves attacked us more than any other team, giving us more space to attack, which is why we managed to score 4 goals against them. Even though on paper, Wolves are a better side than any team we’ve faced so far. Nuno did make some attacking changes to the team on Tuesday; he reverted back to the two up front and played an attacking midfielder, Divine Mukasa, in a deeper central midfield position. We saw the impact he made; he gave us some creation from deep, something we haven’t seen at all with the likes of Kanté in there, and more than we’ve seen with Engels and Orford. We all know what else he gave us: he scored two goals from distance. The first was an absolute peach from outside the box, crossbar and in with his weak foot. The second was a lot luckier, but if you don’t shoot, you don’t score, and we haven’t been shooting anywhere near enough this season. Nuno needs to stick with this attacking philosophy; in these games you need to start fast, score early so the opposition doesn’t have anything to hold onto. The Charlton game was a nightmare because we conceded so early, and the Addicks then had something to hold onto, and they defended like their lives depended on it. We can’t allow Derby to get that same early goal; we need to get it so they are forced to attack, leaving more space for us in attack, just like the Wolves game. If Nuno can’t get a win here, he goes back to where he was before the Wolves game, despite that being an excellent win. His job could really be under threat if we can’t beat the Rams tonight.