West Ham United

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Three games into the new season and it is three defeats for West Ham and boss Graham Potter.

After a heavy loss to his former side Chelsea at the weekend, the Hammers followed it up by letting a lead slip against Wolves to suffer an early exit from the Carabao Cup on Tuesday.

The statistics for Potter's time at West Ham do not make for pretty reading - as you can see in the post below this one.

We asked for your views on his future after the opening game of the campaign and the response was pretty split.

So, how are you feeling now? Can Potter take this West Ham side forward? Or is it already time to be looking elsewhere?

Get in touch with your views here

Matthew Hobbs
BBC Sport journalist

It was a messy night for West Ham in the West Midlands as they fell to a third successive defeat of the new season. The Hammers have conceded 11 goals so far in 2025-26 and Jarrod Bowen's apology following a confrontation with supporters is the latest sign of a club struggling on and off the pitch.

The overriding concern for West Ham fans is that the warning signs have been there for some time. Since Graham Potter took over on 14 January, the Hammers would be bottom of a Premier League table featuring only the ever-present clubs.

Since the start of March, they have won just two of 13 Premier League matches (D4, L7). They have also faced the most shots on target in the top flight this season (12).

The Hammers have also dropped 15 points from winning positions under Potter – the most of any Premier League team during his tenure. Meanwhile, two defeats - and eight goals conceded - constitutes their worst start to a league season since 1954.

Image source, Getty Images

The competition may have changed on Tuesday, but defensive frailties were once again exposed by conceding twice in the final eight minutes. They shipped three goals to a Wolves side who had started this campaign by failing to score in two defeats.

Potter himself has called for unity following the Molineux setback, but with a record of just five wins in 22 games since replacing Julen Lopetegui at London Stadium, time may already be running out to turn his side's long-standing issues around.

Next up is a trip to Nottingham Forest on Sunday - and West Ham have not scored a Premier League goal at the City Ground since 1996.

• Find and follow your Premier League club on BBC Sport

Nick Mashiter
Football reporter

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It should not look this bleak this early but it is hard to pick out the positives for West Ham.

When Jarrod Bowen walked over to applaud the travelling fans at the final whistle it was a show of support.

Yet stewards then appeared to stop Bowen getting any closer to the supporters as the forward became angry, potentially over something said in the crowd.

What started as a show of unity ended in highlighting the Hammers' fractures and it underlined the tension which has already started to boil over after just three games.

Three defeats, 11 goals conceded and just days of the transfer window left.

The Hammers go to Nottingham Forest on Sunday and Graham Potter needs quick results, especially after being undone in the final 10 minutes.

West Ham are close to a £17.3m deal to sign AS Monaco's 21-year-old French midfielder Soungoutou Magassa. (Guardian, external)

The Hammers are exploring a deal for Nottingham Forest's Ivory Coast defensive midfielder Ibrahim Sangare, 27. (Sky Sports, external)

Want more transfer stories? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Image source, Getty Images

West Ham boss Graham Potter, speaking after his side's Carabao Cup exit at the hands of Wolves: "We're all in pain so we need everybody to help, we need everybody's support, we need to push forward and on to the next match.

"The team's suffering at the moment, we all are, we're all hurting. I can assure you no-one's happy."

On captain Jarrod Bowen appearing to confront fans after the game: "I have no idea what was said or anything. Our supporters have been fantastic, they are hurting because of the results we've had and Jarrod obviously cares about the club and the team. It's just an exchange of views by people who care.

"Everyone is hurting, rightly so because we haven't had the results we'd like. Jarrod has been a fantastic captain and servant for the club."

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Wolves's performance

What did you make of West Ham's display?

Wolves boss Vitor Pereira has made eight changes for the EFL Cup visit of West Ham.

Only Emmanuel Agbadou, Jean-Ricner Bellegarde and Jhon Arias remain from Saturday's Premier League defeat at Bournemouth.

Wolves XI: Johnstone, S Bueno, Agbadou, Mosquera, R Gomes, Andre, Bellegarde, H Bueno, Lopez, Hwang, Arias.

Subs: Bentley, Doherty, Munetsi, Wolfe, J Gomes, Strand Larsen, Kalajdzic, Chirewa, Tchatchoua.

Alphonse Areola, Kyle Walker-Peters, Dinos Mavropanos and Guido Rodriguez start for West Ham at Molinuex.

Mads Hermansen, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Maximilian Kilman and Niclas Fullkrug drop out from their 5-1 defeat to Chelsea, with Wan-Bissaka not in the squad.

West Ham XI: Areola, Walker-Peters, Todibo, Mavropanos, Aguerd, Diouf, Rodriguez, Ward-Prowse, Soucek, Paqueta, Bowen.

Subs: Hermansen, Scarles, Kilman, Potts, Orford, Irving, Fullkrug, Wilson, Marshall

There are five games involving Premier League sides in the Carabao Cup second round on Tuesday and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Wolves v West Ham (19:30)

• Burnley v Derby County

• Sunderland v Huddersfield Town

• Bournemouth v Brentford - listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 3

• Sheffield Wednesday v Leeds United (20:00) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

Kick-off times 19:45 BST unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction here

James Jones
Fan writer

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Two weeks ago I wrote about how a relatively good pre-season had transformed fears of a potential relegation battle into cautious optimism that Graham Potter might just be able to lead West Ham forward this season.

That was short-lived, though, after kicking off the new campaign with two defeats and eight goals conceded, the most the club has shipped from their opening two games in any Premier League season in history.

Seven of those goals have come from wide areas, despite West Ham's current back three costing the club over £100m in transfer fees over the last three summers. At least three of them can be attributed to poor decision-making from the club's new £20m goalkeeper, Mads Hermansen.

Quite frankly, it does not look good.

With under a week until the transfer window closes, Graham Potter has a lot of work to do if he is not only going to turn things around, but also save his job. Top of the list of business which needs to be done is fixing the midfield.

It has been painfully clear that Potter's side lacks pace, creativity and physicality in the middle of the park.

A combination of James Ward-Prowse, Tomas Soucek and Guido Rodriguez does not equal a top quality midfield at this level. All of them have their own attributes which the team can benefit from, but when playing together they offer very little both in and out of possession. Potter needs a midfielder who these players can compliment, who is able to take the game by the scruff of the neck and make things happen.

Young Freddie Potts was handed his Premier League debut against Chelsea on Friday and he does show promise, but it would be unfair and unwise to put all the pressure on him to provide exactly what West Ham's midfield needs. He needs time to develop further before being handed that kind of responsibility.

Failure to fix this major issue over the next week could have catastrophic consequences for both the club's and Potter's futures.

The clock is ticking and now, all eyes are on David Sullivan…

Find more from James Jones at We Are West Ham, external

West Ham have rejected a bid from Everton for midfielder Tomas Soucek. (Times - subscription required, external)

Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

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Former West Ham midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker believes the Hammers will be battling relegation this season because "they look weak" and manager Graham Potter looks "lost".

It has been a nightmare start with two defeats and eight goals conceded from the opening two matches.

"It looks very bleak for West Ham right now," said Reo-Coker on the BBC Radio 5 Live Football Daily podcast. "Things are looking tough.

"I think they will be in a relegation battle this season. There was just no fight or togetherness against Chelsea. They looked like a bunch of individuals.

"The biggest worry is midfield because they just don't have any legs or dogs of war to win the ball back. They look weak.

"They can't get the ball up either because there's no real target man.

"Recruitment has been a big problem at West Ham for some time now. They have no real direction in what they are trying to build or do.

"You can always tell a lot by a managers body language and facial expressions and a couple of times when the cameras panned to him, he looked like he had no idea what to do.

"Potter looked lost. I think most West Ham fans will just be happy to see them stay up this season.

"There is no other ambition than survival in the Premier League."

Listen to the Football Daily podcast on BBC Sounds

West Ham boss Graham Potter is safe from the sack for now, but he needs to improve results soon if he wants to remain in his role at London Stadium. (Mirror), external

Hammers midfielder Lucas Paqueta is a target for Tottenham and Aston Villa. (Mail), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Pundits Alan Shearer and Micah Richards join host Kelly Cates to bring you the action and talking points from Friday and Sautrday's Premier League fixtures.

Watch on BBC iPlayer here

And listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Brentford 1-0 Aston Villa

• Burnley 2-0 Sunderland

• Arsenal 5-0 Leeds

We asked for your thoughts after Friday's Premier League game between West Ham and Chelsea.

Here are some of your comments:

West Ham fans

Matthew: I've never seen a West Ham side as disorganised, lethargic and uncommitted in all my life. Every Chelsea attack was like a knife through melted butter, and emphasised how far away we are from those European nights.

Rob: Looking like a Championship side after just two games. Schoolboy errors all over the pitch and other teams can't wait to play us. How do we get out of this one ?

Rich: Playing at Upton Park gave West Ham an extra player. London Stadium is like playing with nine men. Yes, they were poor, but this ground makes it hard to get behind the team and easy for terrace critics to dominate. If West Ham players fear playing at home, the team is in a doom loop. How do fans help stop this?

Chelsea fans

James: A good performance. Apart from the early West Ham goal, it wasn't really much of a contest. We look very good going forward. It will be interesting to see how Maresca manages minutes among the vast array of talent in this squad.

Martin: Won 5-1 and didn't really get out of second gear. West Ham were woeful. Still think Chelsea need to tighten up at the back because we looked vulnerable a few times. Estevao will light up the Premier League.

Scott: Great result but a flattering scoreline - it was more down to West Ham being utterly awful after they took the lead. We will cause any team problems going forward, but defensively we're still suspect. And what was Sanchez doing for the Hammers goal? He will cost us tight games.

Nizaar Kinsella
Football reporter at London Stadium

Image source, Getty Images

One of the loudest cheers from the home support came in second-half stoppage time when Mads Hermansen claimed a cross.

Of course they were ironic cheers from those that remained in the stadium, after a mass exodus began around the 54th-minute mark when Moises Caicedo struck Chelsea's fourth goal after a mistake from their keeper, a £20m summer signing from relegated Leicester City.

This was not the fresh start either Hermansen, or the wider squad, will have wanted.

Three of the Chelsea goals came from corners, with blame also likely to fall at the feet of West Ham's outfield players.

An example was how Chelsea's 5ft 9in left-back Marc Cucurella managed to flick on a corner, setting up Joao Pedro's equaliser, against a team playing with three centre-backs.

There was another moment at the end of the first half when midfielders Enzo Fernandez and Caicedo were allowed to play six or seven short passes between each other without being closed down.

That signalled the first sign of discontent for a side who have gone from having a fearsome home atmosphere to becoming an easy place to visit.

There is pressure on the players, manager and owner to put things right. After all, Julen Lopetegui was sacked in January after just 22 matches.

Graham Potter has a worse record than his predecessor, earning less than a point per game in his first 21 league fixtures.

West Ham boss Graham Potter, speaking to BBC Sport: "Incredibly disappointed of course with the result.

"A good start, scored a great goal and then conceded a cheap goal and that probably set the tone for the evening.

"We played a top side but the manner of the goals we conceded made it impossible for us. We have to do better.

"We have to dust ourselves down and prepare to play against Wolves. Keep going."

On needing new signings: "We will always look but its more fundamental than that, we have to make it harder for teams to score against us."

West Ham captain Jarrod Bowen, speaking to Sky Sports on his emotions after the game: "You can probably imagine. Fuming. Disappointing. All the emotions that come with being on the back of conceding eight goals in two games and not picking up a point yet.

"The goals were really cheap on our behalf. We didn't really make them work for those three from set-pieces, which we've always prided ourselves on over the years and a couple more finishes inside the six-yard box."

On putting things right: "It's a collective. When things are going well, it's easy to get individual awards, but when things aren't going so well, you have to point the finger at every single person because we're out there on the pitch.

"We have to look at ourselves. The players are out there playing on the pitch - the manager can't influence that, that's down to us. I don't think we're doing basic football well enough. I can tell you that because we've conceded eight in two.

"As captain, I'm fuming with the first couple of weeks and I share that responsibility and it's down to me to get a reaction from everyone."

Did you know?

• West Ham have conceded eight goals across their first two games of a top-flight campaign for the first time.

• Potter is the first Hammers boss in Premier League history to fail to earn double-figures points in his first 10 home games. His side have nine from two wins, three draws and five defeats.

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on West Ham's performance

What did you make of Chelsea's display?

Come back to this page on Saturday to find a selection of your replies

Nizaar Kinsella
Football reporter at London Stadium

West Ham have made just one change to the team that lost 3-0 at Sunderland, with Tomas Soucek coming in for Guido Rodriguez.

Meanwhile, Chelsea make three changes to the team that drew 0-0 at home to Crystal Palace last week and start Liam Delap alongside Joao Pedro up front, with Jamie Gittens dropping to the bench.

Tosin Adarabioyo returns from injury in place of Josh Acheampong and Malo Gusto comes in for Reece James.

West Ham XI: Hermansen, Todibo, Kilman, Aguerd, Wan-Bissaka, Ward-Prowse, Soucek, Diouf, Paqueta, Bowen, Fullkrug

Subs: Areola, Walker-Peters, Mavropanos, Scarles, Rodriguez, Irving, Potts, Wilson, Marshall

Chelsea XI: Sanchez, Gusto, Tosin, Chalobah, Cucurella, Caicedo, Fernandez, Neto, Palmer, Joao Pedro, Delap

Subs: Jorgensen, James, Fofana, Acheampong, Hato, Essugo, Andrey Santos, Estevao Willian, Gittens

Sophie Brown
BBC Sport journalist

West Ham host Chelsea, with both sides looking to kick-start their campaigns after disappointing opening games.

The Hammers ended last season with two wins in their last three matches but offered few encouraging signs in their opening match of this campaign, looking lacklustre as they lost 3-0 at newly promoted Sunderland.

And it may not be a case of returning to home comforts for the Hammers, whose last win at London Stadium came back in February.

Another defeat will pile the pressure on head coach Graham Potter, whose predecessor Julen Lopetegui was sacked after 20 league matches, which is the landmark Potter will reach on Friday evening.

Anything short of a victory will mean Potter's record compares unfavourably with Lopetegui's, and the former Chelsea and Brighton boss has already had the dreaded 'vote of confidence' this week.

After winning five of their final six Premier League games last season and picking up the Club World Cup title over the summer, the 0-0 home draw with Crystal Palace on the opening weekend of this campaign was something of a comedown for Chelsea and Enzo Maresca.

The Blues have refurbished their forward line, with four new attackers – signed for a combined total of over £160m – making their debut last weekend. But neither they nor their new team-mates found the net, amassing only three shots on target.

It was the fifth time Chelsea had begun a Premier League campaign against a London rival, and the first time they had failed to win it.

They will need to get better at dealing with local rivals as they are starting the season with four consecutive derbies, with games against Fulham and Brentford following the trip to West Ham.