West Ham United beat Huddersfield Town 2-0 in their first home match of the season to relieve some of the pressure on boss Slaven Bilic.
The Hammers headed into the game without a Premier League point from their opening three games of the campaign, but they deservedly came out on top on Monday night.
Pedro Obiang sent a heavily deflected shot past Jonas Lossl to open the scoring 72 minutes in, before Andre Ayew added a second from the bench soon after to settle the contest.
Relive how the 90 minutes of action unfolded with Sports Mole's live text coverage below.
Hello and welcome to Sports Mole's live text coverage of the Premier League meeting between West Ham United and Huddersfield Town at the London Stadium. The Hammers have made a slow start to the campaign, failing to pick up a single point from their opening three games, while opponents Huddersfield remain unbeaten with seven points from a possible nine.
There are suggestions that anything less than victory tonight and United boss Slaven Bilic will lose his job, much in the same way as Frank de Boer at Crystal Palace - the Dutchman being shown the Selhurst Park exit earlier today a little over three months after taking charge. No risk of David Wagner being sacked anytime soon, though, as he has worked wonders at Huddersfield during his time at the helm.
WEST HAM UNITED TEAM NEWS!
STARTING XI: Hart; Zabaleta, Reid, Collins, Fonte, Cresswell; Kouyate, Obiang, Antonio; Chicharito, Carroll
SUBS: Adrian, Byram, Ogbonna, Masuaku, Rice, Ayew, Sakho
Bilic has acted on the back of West Ham's 3-0 defeat to Newcastle United last time out by making five changes to his starting XI. Among those to come into the fold is Andy Carroll, who makes his first appearance of the campaign after picking up a thigh injury earlier in the summer. Winston Reid is also back from a calf problem sustained in the warm-up before the clash against Southampton, as is fellow centre-back Jose Fonte.
Pedro Obiang and Cheikhou Kouyate join Carroll, Fonte and Reid in returning to the starting lineup. Among the quintet to drop out, meanwhile, is captain Mark Noble due to an injury sustained in training. Edimilson Fernandes picked up an injury on international duty, while Angelo Ogbonna, Declan Rice and Andre Ayew are all dropped to the bench. Bilic needed to shake things up and that he has certainly done.
The under-fire boss may well go with a 3-5-3 tonight, with Javier Hernandez and Michail Antonio offering Carroll support through the middle, meaning that Aaron Cresswell and Pablo Zabaleta will have to get up and down the wings to get the ball into the box. Elsewhere, Marko Arnautovic remains suspended due to the silly red shown to him against Southampton, and Diafra Sakho is made to wait for his chance from the bench.
HUDDERSFIELD TOWN TEAM NEWS!
STARTING XI: Lossl; Smith, Zanka, Schindler, Lowe; Kachunga, Billing, Mooy, Ince; Van la Parra, Mounie
SUBS: Coleman, Hefele, Malone, Sabiri, Williams, Depoitre, Hadergjonaj
In terms of the visitors, Wagner has gone with an unchanged starting lineup following the goalless home draw with Southampton before the international break. Abdelhamid Sabiri and Florent Hadergjonaj were both in contention to come into the fold, but the Terriers boss has instead opted to stick with the same group for the third game in a row - it is fair to say that Wagner already has his preferred XI.
Wagner has not been helped in terms of squad depth by a number of injury issues, including the continued loss of Kasey Palmer, Martin Cranie, Jonathan Hogg and Jan Gorenc. Collin Quaner is also absent tonight after failing to overcome a fitness test on a knee problem, though key midfield man Aaron Mooy does feature from the off, despite missing out for Australia last week due to illness.
Town will likely go with a 4-2-3-1 formation, spearheaded by Steve Mounie who netted twice in his opening game against Palace but has since fired blanks. Rajiv van la Parra is another fitness doubt who has been fit enough to start, being used in a three-man attacking midfield alongside Tom Ince - whose father, Paul, represented the Hammers during his playing days - and Elias Kachunga.
Slaven Bilic has made mass changes to his starting lineup, bringing in five new faces from the 3-0 defeat to Newcastle United. Andy Carroll is among those to come into the fold for his first outing of the campaign, while Winston Reid and Jose Fonte are also back to make up a five-man defence. Opposition boss David Wagner has stuck with the same XI for the third match running, meanwhile, with Steve Mounie again tasked with leading the line.
A huge night ahead for Slaven Bilic and his West Ham side, then, as he aims to get off the mark with a first league point at the fourth time of asking. A point may not be enough to rescue his job if certain reports are to be believed, however, with Napoli boss Maurizio Sarri said to be at the top of the Hammers' wishlist to replace the Croat should he suffer a fourth-successive league loss today.
Bilic has near enough been under pressure for the past 12 months now, having also seen his side struggle for large parts of last season before pulling away from trouble with some time to spare. The former Croatia boss has been installed as the clear favourite to be the next Premier League manager out of work, with the previous frontrunner - Crystal Palace's Frank de Boer - being given his marching orders a little earlier today.
Since conceding four times away to Manchester United on the opening day, West Ham have since conceded a combined six goals in games against Southampton and Newcastle - simply not good enough. The Irons did put up a brave fight on the South Coast, to be fair to them, dragging the game back to 2-2 at one point despite being down to 10 men, only to then lose the game at the death.
It is far tougher to find any positives from the 3-0 loss to the Magpies just over a fortnight ago, however, as the Irons conceded to a Joselu goal in the first half and then squandered their only real chance of levelling up early in the second. From then on it was a case of the hosts taking control and adding two more goals to their tally, getting over the line for their first win of the campaign which they have since added to.
Bournemouth and Crystal Palace are now the only other pointless sides in the division, having both played one game more, though only a six-goal win will be enough to lift West Ham above Leicester City and out of the dropzone tonight. United have certainly not been helped by a run of four away games in a row in all competitions to begin the season - the first time that has happened in their history - but they are back in front of their own supporters tonight.
That said, the London Stadium was far from a fortress in their maiden campaign here, losing eight league games in total. That is just one fewer than in their last two seasons at Upton Park combined, largely explaining why they suffered for three-quarters of the 2016-17 campaign. The Irons now have four homes game to come in their next seven before the international break, many of which they will be expected to win.
West Ham have just the one real tough games to come in their next chunk of fixtures, in fact - Tottenham at home on September 30 in what promises to be another lively London derby showdown. Bilic will certainly be hoping that the new recruits in his squad will soon settle in, as the Londoners did actually have a pretty decent transfer window on the whole, only soured by missing out on William Carvalho.
Arnautovic, Hernandez and Sead Haksabanovic came in for a combined £40m, while Joe Hart joined on loan from Manchester City and Pablo Zabaleta himself departed the Citizens on a permanent basis. Experience added and a proven goalscorer up top, it is now a case of Bilic finding the best formation for his players and, hopefully for him, it will all slowly begin to click into gear.
DID YOU KNOW? West Ham United have not lost their opening four games to a season since 2010-11 when they would go on to be relegated. The Hammers could also equal their own record of conceding three or more goals in the first four games of a Premier League season, set in the same campaign seven years ago. If they are to avoid that then Joe Hart needs to hope for better luck - the Englishman has failed to keep a clean sheet in 22 league games.
Not only has Joe Hart failed to keep a clean sheet in 22 league outings, stretching back to the first week of January when protecting the goal for Torino, the England number one has also made fewer saves in the Premier League (9) at his new club than goals he has conceded (10). Bilic has gone with a five-man backline this evening, perhaps giving Hart more protection.
Huddersfield will certainly be looking to exploit the uncertainty at the back, having made a very impressive start to the campaign. The Terriers find themselves sixth in the Premier League table on their return to this level for the first time in 45 years, winning their first two matches and then being held to a goalless draw by Southampton on home soil last time out.
Many wondered how Wagner's men would cope following promotion from the Championship, when incredibly going up through the playoffs despite their negative goal difference, but they have adapted very well so far. After kicking things off with that memorable 3-0 win away to Palace, Huddersfield have since earned a narrow 1-0 win over fellow new boys Newcastle United - Aaron Mooy scoring the only goal of the game - and played out that uneventful goalless draw with Southampton.
Seven points from nine has left Huddersfield in a strong position at this early stage, then, and now they have a real chance to make it 10 from 12 to climb joint-top of the division alongside Manchester United and Manchester City. Only twice before have they won their opening two games to a top-flight campaign, going on to lift the title on both occasions... I wonder? Mere safety is the dream at this moment, though, which they are on course to achieve.
Town have a fairly nice run of fixtures to come before the international break, travelling to West Ham, Burnley, Swansea City and one of the big boys in Liverpool, while also hosting Leicester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Man United. A few tough games, but they will fancy their chances of picking up a couple of points on their travels over the next six weeks or so against teams expected to be in the bottom half come next May.
Not since 1953 have Huddersfield won their first four games to a top-flight campaign, although they have of course spent much of that time in the lower divisions. The last newly promoted team to achieve that feat was Portsmouth in 2003-04, incidentally, while they could also become just the sixth Premier League team ever to keep the opposition out for four matches in a row to begin the season.
Jonas Lossl will be hoping for another quiet evening, with a clean sheet tonight needed to help him join an elite list of goalkeepers - only three others have kept the opposition out in their first four Premier League appearances: Alex Manninger, Anders Lindegaard and Pepe Reina. A lot of that is down to the impressive attacking play under Wagner, as a Premier League-high 36.3% of their passes have been in the attacking third of the field.
PREVIOUS MEETINGS! This is the first top-flight meeting between these two sides since March 1972, when West Ham United ran out 3-0 winners at Upton Park. The most recent encounters was an EFL Cup second-round tie exactly three decades ago, meanwhile, which the Hammers won 3-1 on aggregate. A similar outcome tonight would be welcome as far as Slaven Bilic is concerned - his job may well depend on it.
With kickoff at the London Stadium now less than five minutes away, let us check out some pre-match thoughts from both camps.
Slaven Bilic: "My job is to raise the performance. We didn't start well but Monday is a good opportunity to start winning games and get on the right tracks. I haven't been told that [my job is on the line]. I said to the chairman, we have no points from three matches and we have to start winning. Monday night is a game that I am totally concentrated on."
David Wagner: "I've no idea if it's a good time [to play them] and to be fair it doesn't bother me what's going on at West Ham because this is nothing we can influence. This is of no interest to us. We have to make sure we get our details right and are focused on ourselves. We are still humble enough to know it will be the big West Ham against the small Huddersfield."
Bilic has claimed in the build-up to this match that his job is not on the line - or at least, he has been told by those above him that it isn't. Wagner under no pressure whatsoever, meanwhile, but that is not to say that he will bring his side here to simply sit on a point. Huddersfield will surely see this as a good chance to pick up a second-successive away win to truly mark their return to the top flight in style.
KICKOFF! Huddersfield Town get us up and running at the London Stadium, where around 55,000 are expected in attendance tonight. Plenty of away supporters may well miss out on kickoff, though, due to delays on the M1.
CHANCE! He may be a frustrating player due to his succession of injury problems, but there is no denying that Andy Carroll remains one of the best players anywhere in the country at what he does. The Englishman brought the ball down and sent the ball across the face of the goal, but Kouyate could not turn it in on the stretch.
Bright start made by West Ham thanks to Carroll's presence up top. United centre-back Collins has been left feeling a little groggy following a collision, forcing him temporarily off the field, but he will be back on in a moment or two.
Huddersfield doing more defending than attacking early on in East London, where the heavens have opened up once again. Good atmosphere inside the London Stadium, incidentally, in what is the Hammers' first outing here since a heavy loss at the hands of Liverpool in May.
Zabaleta refuses to give up the ball down the right and soon wins it back. Hernandez is picked out and quickly swings the ball into the middle, where Carroll cannot quite turn it on target but instead wins his side a corner kick.
So far, so good as far as the home side are concerned. Just the one opportunity so far, which Kouyate could not quite turn home on the turn early on, but they have been in control of the game pretty much throughout so far.
OFF THE BAR! West Ham really should be ahead at the London Stadium following some good work from Antonio. The English winger charged into the box and picked out Hernandez at the end of it, but the striker could only find the crossbar from 10 yards out.
It would be so typical of West Ham's start to the season if they now went on to concede following their dominant start to the evening. Huddersfield yet to really get going, being forced to defend for the opening 15 minutes of the game.
Both managers are already soaked right through due to the heavy rain, with Bilic opting against putting on a jacket like his opposite number. The Croat will be happy with his side's start, though he will want a goal before the break.
Huddersfield starting to grow into the match a little more now, enjoying a spell on the ball in the opposition half. Prior to this weekend no side in the Premier League had made a higher percentage of final-third passes than Wagner's men.
SHOT! Carroll is given the chance to shoot from the edge of the box, but he did not make the desired contact when put under pressure. Visiting keeper Jonas Lossl collected the ball after the sting had been taken out of it.
A quarter of the game gone and West Ham have seen 70% of the ball. The only chances so far have fallen their way, too - Kouyate narrowly failing to slide home from close range and Hernandez hitting the bar soon after.
YELLOW CARD! West Ham have lost their rhythm a tad over the past few minutes following that pretty dominant start. Antonio tries his best to change that with a burst down the left, leading to a sliding challenge from Mathias Jorgensen to earn the game's first yellow.
SAVE! Another chance for West Ham to open the scoring. From the left-sided free kick, Collins got his head to the ball but could not find a way past Lossl on the line. Appeared to head it into Jorgensen first before the Town keeper collected.
Antonio is making all the difference for West Ham, causing danger down both the right and left. His latest foray forward ends with the ball going out for yet another corner, which Carroll threw himself at but could only head over via a small deflection.
PENALTY APPEAL! Kouyate screams for a penalty after seemingly being pulled to ground by Tom Smith, but referee Kevin Friend got the decision correct because the contact was minimal. Fonte blasted over from the edge of the box moments later.
Bottom-of-the-table United continuing to knock on the door for what would be a deserved breakthrough goal. The hosts have mustered six attempts, but just one of those - from a James Collins header - found the target.
Huddersfield starting to rack up the passes now as they enjoy a rare prolonged spell on the ball. The spell came to an end when Kachunga slid in on his man to concede a free kick on the edge of the opposition area.
What looked to be a poor attempt from Andy Carroll at the edge of the box actually took a deflection, leading to another West Ham corner. They have put their opponents under pressure at the back but just cannot find a way through.
Antonio, the best player on the field so far, cuts inside and gets in a deflected shot that ends wide of the target. From their latest corner, the ball is cleared but Collins prevents the counter by winning the ball back high up the pitch.
Certainly plenty of positives for Bilic to take from this first half, but unless his players take their chances he could well be out of a job come this time tomorrow. Victory is imperative and, with nearly half the game gone, we are still all square.
CHANCE! A dreadful attempt from Kouyate, who was in the right place to get on the end of a loose ball in the box after Carroll failed to get on the end of a cross. The ball fell nicely to the midfielder 16 yards out but he scuffed it wide.
Short stoppage in play for Mounie to receive some treatment after taking a boot to the face. Prior to that, Cresswell blasted horribly high and wide from a long-range free kick, as West Ham continue to rack up the shot count.
HALF TIME: WEST HAM UNITED 0-0 HUDDERSFIELD TOWN
West Ham had the better of the first-half openings without managing to find a way past Huddersfield, who headed into the match without conceding in their opening three league fixtures. Cheikhou Kouyate could not quite turn the ball in with three minutes on the clock following a blasted cross from Andy Carroll, who was making his first outing of the campaign as one of five United changes.
Javier Hernandez was next to come close, hitting the crossbar from 10 yards out after some impressive play from the lively Michail Antonio, before Carroll had a deflected shot easily collected by Jonas Lossl in the opposition goal. The Irons had seven corner kicks in the opening 45 minutes but did not truly make the most of them, with James Collins awkwardly heading the ball at Lossl from the best of the bunch.
A big opening also came and went for Kouyate who, soon after seeing a weak penalty shout rejected, scuffed the ball horribly wide when getting on the end of a loose ball right on the edge of the area. Slaven Bilic will be happy enough with his side's display in that first half, but the longer it remains goalless the more concerned he will begin to feel.
WEST HAM UNITED SUBS: Adrian, Byram, Ogbonna, Masuaku, Rice, Ayew, Sakho
HUDDERSFIELD TOWN SUBS: Coleman, Hefele, Malone, Sabiri, Williams, Depoitre, Hadergjonaj
RESTART! There were more aerial duels (31) in the first half of the game than any other so far this season, but the Hammers put together enough attacking moves to warrant an opening goal. One goal may be all it takes, as the Irons get us back up and running.
An early injury scare for the Hammers in the second half as Antonio stays on the floor with what appeared to be a slight hamstring injury. After a few moments he was able to get back to his feet and will be OK to continue for the time being.
YELLOW CARD! A decent cross from Zabaleta is just about dealt with by Huddersfield. The former Man City full-back then flew in on Van La Parra and was shown the game's third yellow card, two of which have gone to the visitors.
Such a rarity seeing Huddersfield get bodies forward, but when they do finally manage to do so the subsequent cross from the left flies behind the goal - hugely disappointing. Bilic may well be thinking about making a change shortly.
SAVE! Hernandez, who has found himself in some deep positions and out wide this evening, cannot quite slip the ball through for Antonio. Town then got forward and Billing fired in his side's first shot on target, which Hart was equal to down low.
It really would be a disaster if West Ham conceded now, having been near enough in full control of the match. That said, with nearly an hour played at the London Stadium the sides are level at one apiece in terms of attempt on goal.
SHOT! Wonderful little touch from Javier Hernandez, giving Kouyate the chance to get a shot away. Under pressure from Schindler he failed to really do so, instead stabbing the ball wide of the target from around 16 yards out.
Mounie thought he was through on goal for a moment, only for the delayed offside flag to go up. From the next attacking move, Mathias Jorgensen miscued Zabaleta's cross to concede a corner kick, which Mooy was there to head clear at the front post.
Over an hour played at the London Stadium and West Ham are starting to feel frustrated now. No real sign of the Hammers conceding a goal and they do look like they have one in them, but Bilic may be tempted to change things slightly.
Huddersfield have enjoyed pretty much their best spell over the past couple of minutes, culminating in a first corner of the match being won. All of a sudden it is an even match in East London, with that opening goal still eluding us.
HUDDERSFIELD TOWN SUB! Scott Malone is introduced in place of Chris Lowe in a like-for-like change at left-back, presumably due to a slight knock picked up by the departing player. Ayew also being readied now by Bilic.
WEST HAM UNITED SUB! Andre Ayew does indeed come on for Hernandez, which is not widely appreciated by the home fans - they wanted the Mexican to stay on. All is clearly not well at the London Stadium right now.
The visitors playing some nice football now, with Malone adding some fresh left down the left. The former Cardiff and Fulham man spotted Ince, who in turn laid it off for Mooy to blast over the bar from range - he certainly knows how to hit them!
We are into the final quarter of the contest and it still remains goalless in East London - a real worry for Bilic, who may well need all three points to save his job. Cresswell sends a good delivery into the box but Collins could not help it past Lossl.
GOAL! WEST HAM UNITED 1-0 HUDDERSFIELD TOWN (PEDRO OBIANG)
West Ham at last have the breakthrough thanks to a huge slice of luck. Obiang looked to curl the ball into the top-left corner of the net, but it instead came off the back of Mathias Jorgensen and ended in the opposite side of the goal, wrong-footing Lossl.
HUDDERSFIELD TOWN SUB! Wagner has quickly responded to going a goal down by bringing on summer recruit Sabiri for Kachunga. Huddersfield have actually looked a little livelier in this second half, but West Ham did deserve their opener.
GOAL! WEST HAM UNITED 2-0 HUDDERSFIELD TOWN (ANDRE AYEW)
West Ham fans did not exactly agree with Bilic's decision to bring on Ayew for Hernandez, but since doing so United have netted twice - the Ghanian ace bagging the second of them. Jose Fonte could not quite help the ball home, though Ayew was there to do so with a scrambled finish four yards out.
OFF THE BAR! Ince comes within inches of dragging his side back into the contest. The English winger's curler would have ended in the back of the net if not for a small touch off Collins, taking the ball onto the bar.
WEST HAM UNITED SUB! Carroll has lasted over 80 minutes of the match before being taken off - a major positive for the home side. Diafra Sakho, given a second chance by Bilic, is on in the English striker's place.
HUDDERSFIELD TOWN SUB! Laurent Depoitre is the third and final player to be introduced by Wagner, taking over from Billing. The Terriers heading for the first league defeat of the campaign, barring a miracle in the closing stages.
Huddersfield doing their best to get back into the game, but Ince's latest shot comes off Cresswell and Hart can easily collect. One goal now makes things interesting, though as things stand the home side are going to safely see this one through.
Four minutes of stoppage time to come at the London Stadium, where West Ham are on the brink of a first league win of the season. Much-needed as far as home boss Bilic is concerned, taking the pressure off him for at least another week.
WEST HAM UNITED SUB! Huddersfield on top in the closing stages of the match, but it will count for little. Bilic has brought on Declan Rice for the final 120 seconds in place of Pedro Obiang, who scored that priceless opening goal.
FULL TIME: WEST HAM UNITED 2-0 HUDDERSFIELD TOWN
Referee Kevin Friend blows his whistle for full time, meaning that West Ham United are finally off the mark with their first Premier League points of 2017-18. Goals in the final 20 minutes from Pedro Obiang and substitute Andre Ayew got the Hammers over the line, inflicting a first league loss of the campaign on Huddersfield Town.
That concludes Sports Mole's live text coverage of events at the London Stadium. An on-the-whistle report can be found by clicking here, while reaction will follow elsewhere on the site in the next hour. Thanks for joining!
