West Ham United will have to navigate their next three games without one of Graham Potter's regular starters
Sign up to our LondonWorld Today newsletter
Sign up
Thank you for signing up!
Did you know with an ad-lite subscription to LondonWorld, you get 70% fewer ads while viewing the news that matters to you.
Submitting...
Any good feeling that had surrounded West Ham United following their 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest before the international break quickly evaporated on Saturday night as they slumped to a third loss in four Premier League games.
Their overall record for the 2025-26 campaign is four defeats in five games, as they were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Wolves in August. London rivals Tottenham Hotspur beat them 3-0 on Saturday, with all the goals coming in 17 second-half minutes.
The Hammers are in the bottom three after four games, having conceded 11 goals in four matches. Burnley are level on points with them but already have a stronger goal difference while another newly-promoted side in Leeds United are one point above.
Sunderland sit four points above the Irons, with pressure beginning to mount once again on manager Graham Potter.
Tomas Soucek facing three-game ban
The defeat to Spurs, which saw fans leave early in huge numbers, was costly for two reasons with Tomas Soucek sent off early in the second half for a rash challenge on Joao Palhinha.
With the challenge being deemed as serious foul play, Soucek now faces a three-game ban under Premier League rules. He will miss games Crystal Palace, Everton and Arsenal and will not return until after the international break when the Hammers host Brentford at the London Stadium on October 20.
West Ham can appeal the decision but that is unlikely. Potter said of the incident: "I don't think there was intent from Tomas [Soucek] and there wasn't a lot of speed in it but when you go with your studs raised you've got a problem."
“I think it was the right decision. Soucek is a very honest player, a player I respect a lot. I don’t think it was the intention [to hurt the opponent], but it was a red card,” said Spurs boss Thomas Frank.
Tomas Soucek record against Crystal Palace, Everton and Arsenal
Soucek has been involved in 10 games against Palace since joining West Ham. He has won three, drawn three and lost four. In those fixtures, he has scored four goals and provided two assists while being booked three times.
One of those goals came last season as West Ham beat the Eagles 2-0 in the second game of the 2024-25 campaign.
Against Everton, he has been involved in 10 games with five victories, two draws and three losses. He has scored three goals against the Toffees, with one of those coming last season as the Irons drew 1-1 at Goodison Park. Soucek had been linked with Everton in the summer but rejected the chance to move to the blue half of Merseyside.
He has faced Arsenal 12 times, with two wins and two draws along with seven losses. The two wins have come in the last two seasons, as he scored in a 2-0 victory at the Emirates Stadium in 2023-24 and played as the Hammers beat the Gunners 1-0 last season in North London.