At the beginning of the season, the fans in the Football Transfer Tavern never thought that West Ham vs Sunderland could be a crucial match for Premier League survival.

West Ham’s season was full of hope and passion and the Hammers fans in the Transfer Tavern were dreaming of Europa League titles.

But now, Bilic’s team currently lie 15th, 1 point away from relegation. Now whilst West Ham do have the quality to get out of this situation, they will need to start winning consecutive games.

Sunderland are currently winless in the Premier League and they know that a win will reboot their dreadful start of the season. While many expected Sunderland to struggle this season, nobody expected them to be at the bottom of the league with 8 games played.

So with this game being a must win to restart both teams’s seasons – here are 3 players you need to watch out for this weekend.

 Jordan Pickford

The young English keeper has really impressed at Sunderland this season.

Pickford has helped reduce the scores of games significantly for Sunderland thanks to some impressive saves.

He seemingly wasn’t going to be Sunderland’s starting keeper, but due to lack of signings and a bit of luck on the way – he has managed to become the first name on the team sheet.

If West Ham want to score past the 22-year-old, they will need to be in top form. He could be the difference maker.

 Manuel Lanzini

After a fairly successful loan spell, West Ham decided to make the move permanent and signed Manuel Lanzini over the summer.

It’s safe to say the money was worth it as the Argentine has been one of West Ham’s best performers this season.

While 2 goals in 6 games is not unbelievable, he did score the only goal that got West Ham their second victory this season against a dangerous Crystal Palace side.

It’ll be interesting to watch Lanzini in this game and see if he can come up with the same magic that he did last week.

 Jermain Defoe

Quite simply put, if Sunderland win it’ll be because of this man. Defoe is a player who seems to be not slowing down anytime soon.

This season he already has 4 goals in 8 Premier League games, and if it wasn’t for some defensive errors then Sunderland would not be sitting at the bottom of the table.

Against his former club, Defoe should be able to hit the back of the net. The only issue is how many will be enough to secure Sunderland a victory.