West Ham United return to Premier League action when they take on Aston Villa on Sunday 22 October and David Moyes must be brave to take Nayef Aguerd out of the firing line.

A captivating clash of the Clarets should be in store during Sunday's solitary Premier League fixture, as Unai Emery's Aston Villa welcome the Hammers to the West Midlands at Villa Park.

Moyes holds an impressive record against Sunday's opponents, unbeaten in his last 14 games as a manager against the Villans and the Hammers are without a defeat in this fixture in their last ten.

And if the East Londoners are to continue that stunning individual club record on Sunday, then Moyes will have to make some crucial decisions, especially in defence.

The Hammers face off against an in-form Ollie Watkins at Villa Park, who's already bagged eight goals in all competitions this season, only bettered by the likes of Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah.

One West Ham United man could face a tough afternoon given his recent form and that's Aguerd.

Moroccan international, signed for PS30m (Sky Sports) from Rennes in the summer of 2022 has endured a difficult past month in Moyes' side, especially after gifting a needless penalty against Liverpool on 24 September when he tripped Mohamed Salah in the box.

It was reported that Moyes was already unhappy with Aguerd after his missed header let Julian Alvarez in to score as Manchester City inflicted the Irons' first campaign defeat a week earlier at the London Stadium.

The former Rennes defender was also guilty of a hapless and error-prone display in the 2-2 draw with Newcastle United before the international break and for that reason, Moyes must make the call to axe him on Sunday.

In his 90 minutes on the pitch against the Magpies, Aguerd failed to win a single tackle, or a single interception and only won one of his duels, lost possession of the ball 14 times, only successfully completed 62% of his passes and only completed 5 of his 17 long balls (SofaScore).

It's safe to say the Moroccan must be given a break on Sunday and taken out of the firing line, with Moyes already having a ready-made replacement in Konstantinos Mavropanos who's impressed when given the opportunity.

Managers are expected to make the tough decisions even when it concerns players they've taken a liking to but the former Evertonian cannot afford to be so graceful on Aguerd who's endured a torrid run of form in recent weeks.

Moyes may well be out of his depth should he start him up against Watkins on Sunday, a crucial decision which could prove costly.

In other West Ham news, one European newspaper was left in awe at one London Stadium star's performance over the international break this week.

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