West Ham United are back in Premier League action this afternoon as they welcome one of their local rivals to the London Stadium.

David Moyes' men host Tottenham Hotspur in what is sure to be an exciting encounter, with both matches bringing plenty of goals last season.

The Irons will be looking to make it three wins on the trot, having sealed a resolute 1-0 victory over Everton last Sunday and extended their 100% record in the Europa League by defeating Genk 3-0 just a few nights ago.

Both teams occupy a spot in the top seven, with the north Londoners holding an edge in fifth place. A win for the Hammers could see them leapfrog today's opponents into fourth.

That means Moyes must get his team selection spot on ahead of kickoff. And if Thursday night was any sort of test for some of his fringe stars, then Andriy Yarmolenko wouldn't have passed with flying colours.

The long-serving Ukraine international has struggled for game time in the past 18 months and failed to take a rare opportunity to impress the Scotsman.

He has played only 33 minutes in the Premier League so far this season and started just the one game throughout the whole of the 2020/21 campaign, as per Transfermarkt.

Yarmolenko started and played the full 90 against the Belgian giants this week but failed to provide a goal or assist. And he was just one of two players to record a rating lower than 7.0 by SofaScore.

The 31-year-old forward managed only one shot throughout the whole game and lost five of his eight duels (62.5%), so evidently, he struggled in front of goal and was rather weak against the opposition.

Much of his time in east London has been like this, however.

Across only 65 appearances since his £18m arrival in July 2018, the versatile attacker has only delivered ten goals and six assists, with injuries and inconsistencies a big factor.

Incredibly, there has often been a lack of effort on his part - as seen by his appearance against Manchester United in the Premier League, further proving why he cannot be starting in the competition.

"I’m not sure David Moyes was entirely happy with the efforts of Andriy Yarmolenko there," said Sky Sports commentator Rob Hawthorne during commentary. "Still the dialogue is ongoing between the West Ham manager and the Ukrainian forward, who he has just brought on. He certainly wants to see more from him."

Once dubbed "special" by teammate Declan Rice, Yarmolenko has no right to be involved in the Irons' starting XI when a team like Spurs come to town.

Moyes must axe the £3.6m-rated flop from his lineup, with Michail Antonio looking likely to return after his absence, along with Said Benrahama, who is surely the first-choice out wide.

He's never been good enough for the Hammers.

AND in other news, Moyes could unearth West Ham's next Joe Cole in 19 y/o gem "similar to Jack Grealish"...