Said Benrahma could be facing an axe from West Ham's starting XI in what would be a bold and brutal call from manager David Moyes.

His Irons side host Brighton and Hove Albion at the London Stadium this evening, where they will be looking to respond after back-to-back league defeats.

On Sunday, the east London outfit fell to a 2-1 defeat to defending champions Manchester City at a wintery Etihad Stadium but it was a game in which they barely competed, with Pep Guardiola making it ten wins from 11 top-flight encounters.

Indeed, City ran the show, registering 69% possession and a whopping 19 attempts on goal, compared to the Hammers' five, via SofaScore.

After failing to score in the defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers a week earlier, their form in the final third is certainly going to be a cause for concern heading into tonight's encounter.

Benrahma, who started the 2021/22 campaign on absolute fire with a pair of goals and assists in their opening two matches, has been out of sorts as of late, managing only one assist - and no goals - in his last eight league outings.

[snack-amp-story url = "https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/west-ham-news-transfer-updates-rumours-gossip-david-moyes-gsb-premier-league" title="Read the latest West Ham news, transfer updates and much, much more!"]

And as we saw with Jarrod Bowen on Sunday, Moyes isn't afraid to drop some of his key stars when required.

The £34m-rated Algerian winger was hooked before the hour mark up in Manchester and it has since been revealed that it was a tactical decision, rather than injury-related, despite the 24-year-old appearing to be "hobbling around" - so that's rather telling.

Meanwhile, during that aforementioned Premier League clash at Molineux, club legend Tony Gale delivered a scathing assessment of Benrahma's recent form whilst on commentary duties.

“Benrahma has been struggling today. Not able to get a hold of this contest. Maybe a position change can help him rediscover his form," he said.

Furthermore, Manuel Lanzini dropped a statement with his sublime goal against City, so that, combined with the other points mentioned above, should see Moyes axe Benrahma from his starting XI when they host the Seagulls this evening.

The £58k-per-week dynamo has been poor for weeks, so it's time to try something else instead.

AND in other news, Rob Newman could seal bargain Hammers swoop for £12m-rated "monster" who silenced Michail Antonio...