West Ham boss David Moyes urges Edson Alvarez to improve his discipline ahead of his return from suspension… as he admits the Irons have missed the ‘hugely important’ midfielder in their last two matches

West Ham manager David Moyes has challenged Edson Alvarez to improve his discipline as the midfielder returns from a two-game suspension this weekend.

Alvarez missed the Hammers’ draw against Tottenham and the defeat at Newcastle after picking up his 10th yellow card of the season against Aston Villa last month. He will also miss the first leg of the Europa League quarter-final against Bayer Leverkusen next week after picking up three bookings in the competition.

The Mexican is set to play against Wolves on Saturday afternoon, but Moyes wants his midfielder to manage his performances better.

“We miss his presence, he has been a big influence on us since we signed him at the start of the season. He has been hugely important.

‘Unfortunately he’s had a couple of suspensions this year which haven’t helped us.

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“Getting to the Premier League often takes a bit of time. We see it a lot. I think Edson found the intensity of the Premier League difficult, he has been booked too often.

“We need to try to find a way for him to not put himself in that situation because it affects the team and it has in the last few weeks.” “But we’re very happy to have him back.”

Asked if he had had a conversation with Alvarez, Moyes added: “I would hope he is experienced enough to understand that you can’t get yellow cards every week.”

He is wise enough and doesn’t need me to tell him.

“We don’t have a big enough team that we can afford to leave that many people out.”

“We lost him at the beginning of the season due to suspension, we had him out now and we will also lose him for the game in Leverkusen in midweek. It is starting to have an effect on you that you are missing him for so many games.”

The Hammers will be without goalkeeper Alphonse Areola (groin) for the trip to Molineux, but Nayef Aguerd could return to the team after recovering from a shoulder problem.