Moyes requires a firing Bowen to lift Hammers out of trouble

WEST HAM V CHELSEA (Tomorrow, 12.30pm, BT Sport)

- Malik Ouzia

IF David Moyes was asked to pinpoint the moment he suspected this would not be the most straightforward of seasons for West Ham, he might well return to Stamford Bridge in September and the final minute of a lively London derby.

Not yet engulfed in the crisis that would go on to dominate the first half of the Hammers' campaign, it looked as if Moyes's men had turned a corner after their sluggish start. A first win of the season at Aston Villa had been followed by a well-earned point against Tottenham and, having undeservedly trailed at Chelsea, the Hammers looked to have stolen another, thanks to Maxwel Cornet's late leveller.

Then came what remains, in a crowded field, one of the worst VAR decisions since the technology's introduction, described as such on Twitter by West Ham captain Declan Rice in the immediate aftermath of the game.