Image captured via screenshot by @Mikey. Images property of Premier League

West Ham United has entered their first winning "streak" of the season after defeating Cardiff City at home 3-1. The Hammers lost star Marko Arnautovic before the half to what looked like a hamstring injury. It is expected that he will miss several weeks of action.

Image captured via screenshot by @Mikey. Images property of Premier League

I was able to find a livestream of the game at halftime, and I watched in excitement as the Hammers, even without Arnautovic came out fast and furious to restore their fans' hope for the rest of the season. Arnautovic's replacement, Lucas Perez, scored back-to-back goals in the 49th and 54th minutes, and Michail Antonio added a header into the net at 61'. The game looked to be a wrap at 3-0, but Cardiff's Josh Murphy was able to get the ball in the net past Lukasz Fabianski.

Although Fabianski allowed the goal in stoppage time, he made a tremendous save in the first half on a Cardiff penalty kick. It was an impressive victory for a team that is finally playing like a Pellegrini-coached team should.

Reflecting on My Prediction Two Months Ago

After West Ham got their second win of the season with a victory against Manchester United in late September, I said the following in my article here on Scorum:

It remains to be seen if West Ham can keep up this level of play, but I am very optimistic as to their chances of continuing to move up the EPL ladder. While October and November feature both winnable and difficult matchups, December looks like the month where a healthy Hammers team can really shoot up the standings.
In December, the Hammers play Newcastle (12/1), Cardiff City (12/4), Crystal Palace (12/8), Fulham (12/15), Watford (12/22), Southampton (12/26), and Burnley (12/29). Only one team is in the top 10 of the standings (Watford). If they can avoid injuries during this time, the Hammers could reach and stay inside the top 10 going into the break.

Sure enough, December has already yielded two victories to the Hammers (Newcastle, Cardiff City). West Ham has five matches left this month, and they should be able to earn points in 3-4 of them.

The Hammers have moved up to 12th in the EPL standings with 18 points, jumping over the Wolves, and they just five points away from Bournemouth, who sit in sixth place with 22 points. The Hammers will have to answer many questions without Arnautovic in the lineup, but if Perez can add a similar spark to upcoming matches as he did today, West Ham could be looking at a rise up the leaderboard, at least I hope so.

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