West Ham United shook off successive defeats in the Premier League against Manchester City and Liverpool to rebound with a confident 2-0 victory over struggling Sheffield United, with David Moyes' side currently perched just three points behind the fourth-placed Reds.
Of course, the league season has not even reached the 20% mark, and so there is still a distance to go until the race for European qualification really starts to take shape, but it's been a pleasing start nonetheless – especially because the Hammers had just four points (nine fewer) at the same stage last year.
While it's all going rather well for the Europa Conference League holders, Moyes might be inclined to shake things up and make a bold adjustment to his starting line-up this week, replacing star midfielder Lucas Paqueta.
How is Lucas Paqueta playing this season?
Paqueta was fiercely pursued by treble winners Manchester City in the summer, but his projected £80m transfer fell apart amid an ongoing betting investigation, though concerns that the failed move might have disrupted his form have been swiftly wiped away.
Heralded for his “mind-boggling” talent by former teammate Declan Rice, the Brazilian maestro has posted one goal and assist in the top-flight this term, starting all seven matches, but he was somewhat ineffective in the recent win over the Blades.
In the post-match ratings, the Evening Standard's Malik Ouzia handed him a 6/10 score, writing: 'A couple of wasteful flicks early in the game that might have been punished by better opposition. One of his quieter showings. Dragged just wide late on.'
The dynamo has been fielded on the left across four of the past five league outings, and while he is performing admirably, making 1.3 key passes, 3.3 tackles and 9.1 ball recoveries per game, as per Sofascore, he has indeed started every game this season and it might be wise to drop him to the bench ahead of the upcoming Europa League fixture against German side Freiburg, with a daunting trip to St. James' Park to face Newcastle United looming on Sunday.
As such, Said Benrahma must be unleashed down that left channel, having failed to find a starting berth with regularity so far this season.
Should West Ham now unleash Said Benrahma?
At his best, Benrahma is more than a bit of a tricky customer and dazzles with his fleet-footed brilliance and technical prowess, even hailed as "unplayable" by pundit Joe Cole.
Signed from Brentford for £20m in 2021, the 28-year-old has now strung together an impressive return of 43 direct contributions from 141 outings for West Ham.
As per FBref, the Algerian ranks among the top 11% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for shots taken, progressive carries and progressive passes received per 90, highlighting a skill at driving the ball upfield and unleashing mayhem with his striking ability while also drifting into promising positions to receive incisive passes from peers.
The £55k-per-week magician also scored 12 goals and supplied five assists across all competitions last term, and his direct threat could help alleviate the burden on the likes of Jarrod Bowen, who has been directly involved in six of the Irons' 13 Premier League goals this season.
Moyes must now unleash his dynamo, who will be raring to go after being used as a substitute across two of the past three league outings – an unused bench member in the other.