West Ham missed the chance to close the gap on the Premier League’s top seven by conceding a last-minute equaliser at home to West Brom on Saturday.

Slaven Bilic’s men looked set to secure a seventh win in ten games when Manuel Lanzini fired them 2-1 ahead four minutes from time, yet Jonny Evans’ late header, which clipped Gareth McAuley on the way through, secured a point for the Baggies from an entertaining contest.

The result means that West Ham remain five points behind Tony Pulis’ men, but they did slip a place to tenth following Stoke’s 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace.

Nonetheless, the Hammers’ recent upturn in form has been excellent, as they were just a place and a point above the bottom three following a 5-1 defeat to Arsenal on December 3, but have since won six of their 11 Premier League games, losing just three.

This has given some West Ham fans hope that they may be able to catch Everton in seventh, as seventh could turn out to be a European spot come the end of the season.

Bilic’s side have certainly shown enough in recent weeks to suggest that a winning run is possible, and here is the West Ham XI that could secure a European place this season…

Darren Randolph

Republic of Ireland international Darren Randolph replaced Adrian as West Ham’s number one earlier in the season, and hasn’t since relinquished his grip on the starting berth.

Spaniard Adrian made a few costly errors earlier in the campaign, despite having a fine season last time out, and Bilic made the decision to drop the 30-year-old against Tottenham on November 19.

Since then, Randolph has started all 13 of their Premier League games, and has been solid in between the sticks to suggest that he is now the undisputed number one choice at the London Stadium.

Jose Fonte

Centre-back Jose Fonte made the move from Southampton to East London in January, for a fee believed to be around £8 million.

The Portuguese international, who helped his country win the European Championships last year, was sensational at the heart of the Saints defence for seven years, helping them win back-to-back promotions and then consolidating as a Premier League team.

Yet, he made the move to West Ham last month, and has started solidly if unspectacularly at the London Stadium, playing three league games, yet not keeping a clean sheet in any of them.

Nonetheless, the 33-year-old has proven to be an excellent defender at this level, and one the Hammers can trust to perform solidly throughout the rest of the campaign.

Winston Reid

He has been a stalwart of the West Ham defence for a number of years, yet Winston Reid remains a solid and reliable option for Bilic.

The New Zealand captain, who has appeared 20 times for his country, moved to East London all the way back in 2010, and later that season was part of the side relegated to the Championship.

However, the 28-year-old helped the Hammers win promotion at the first time of asking, and has since helped them become an established Premier League side once again, making 134 Premier League appearances, including 36 in their first season back in 2012/13.

And he’s been an important part of Bilic’s backline this term, starting 22 of their 25 Premier League games, and certainly improving alongside the overall upturn in form of the club over the past few months.

Clearly, Reid will be an integral part of the defence for the rest of the season and beyond.

Cheikhou Kouyate

Cheikhou Kouyate has been at West Ham since 2014 and has been a regular feature in the side since, but not always in the centre of defence.

In fact, the Senegalese international, who captained his country to a disappointing African Cup of Nations quarter-final exit last month, started the season in the centre of midfield, but struggled to have an meaningful impact on proceedings.

However, since Bilic has switched things around and occasionally plays a back three, the 27-year-old has played both in central defence and at right-back, with his last two league games in the latter position.

He’s clearly a versatile player who Bilic trusts to do a job, so expect Kouyate to remain a regular feature in the West Ham side for the rest of the campaign.

Sofiane Feghouli

Sofiane Feghouli was outstanding against West Brom last weekend, netting once and laying on an assist in a game where he was harshly denied another goal.

The 27-year-old moved to West Ham last summer after six years at La Liga outfit Valencia, but has struggled for regular football at the London Stadium, starting just six times in the Premier League, and appearing as a substitute on only eight other occasions.

However, seven successive starts in all competitions since the turn of the year suggests that he is now a key member of the first team, and with two goals and an assist in that time, it’s clear to see why.

Whether he plays as a right midfielder or a right wing-back, Feghouli’s directness and desire to take defenders is hugely beneficial to West Ham, and will be for the rest of the campaign.

Pedro Obiang

Pedro Obiang is another who hasn’t always been in the side this season, although has still started 17 of West Ham’s 25 league games this term.

The Spaniard moved to East London in 2015 but made just 24 Premier League appearances last season, only 11 of which were starts.

And it looked set to be similar this term when he didn’t start a league game until October, although excellent displays saw him named their Player of the Month, and since then he has been a regular feature in Bilic’s team.

A wonderful display against Southampton ten days ago, where he scored his first West Ham goal and laid on an assist, has further endeared him to the Hammers faithful, and more robust and industrious displays in the middle will see Obiang remain a key member of the first team this season.

Manuel Lanzini

Alongside the more defensive-minded Obiang is the technically-gifted Manuel Lanzini, who could go on to become their next star man in the absence of Dimitri Payet.

The Argentine netted seven goals in 31 appearances for the club last season after spending the season on-loan at Upton Park, before making the move permanent last summer.

However, he, like West Ham in general, didn’t make a great start to the season, although two goals and two assists in his last five Premier League games suggests that he’s beginning to relish the role of being the main man, with his display against West Brom indicative of a player willing to take responsibility in the middle of the park.

Lanzini is a supremely talented footballer, and one West Ham will look to throughout the next few months to score goals and help win games for the club.

Aaron Cresswell

Aaron Cresswell suffered a nasty knee injury in pre-season last summer, and that ruled him out of the first few months of the season, the months in which West Ham desperately struggled.

However, the 27-year-old returned with a bang with an assist in the 1-0 win at Crystal Palace on October 15, although was sent off not long after, and has since then been a regular feature in the side, starting 15 other Premier League matches.

Nonetheless, Cresswell, who received his first England cap last November against Spain at Wembley, hasn’t been in great form in recent weeks, and was hauled off at half-time in their 2-2 draw with West Brom on Saturday.

Clearly though, the former Ipswich man is very adept at both full-back and wing-back, so expect him to be a regular feature down the West Ham left for the remainder of the season and beyond.

Robert Snodgrass

West Ham fought off much interest to secure the signing of Robert Snodgrass from Hull last month, and the early signs are that the Scottish international is going to do very well for the Hammers.

The 29-year-old scored seven goals and laid on three assists in just 20 appearances for the Tigers before moving to East London, and given that they had only scored 20 goals in the league when he left, it demonstrated how integral he was to Marco Silva’s side.

Nonetheless, he moved to West Ham and, although he is yet to directly contribute to a goal for Bilic’s men, it’s only a matter of time before he does.

His set piece deliveries are excellent and repeatedly caused the West Brom defence problems on Saturday, and you sense that when Andy Carroll is on the pitch, these two will combine regularly for the Hammers and score plenty of goals over the coming months.

Michail Antonio

He is West Ham’s top-scorer this season and has played in pretty much every position on the pitch at some stage, so Michail Antonio is clearly important to Bilic.

The Englishman, who received call-ups to two England squads last year but didn’t get on the pitch, has scored eight goals and laid on three assists for the Hammers this term, although hasn’t scored in any of his last eight starts.

Nonetheless, the 26-year-old will always do a job for the team, be it as a false nine like against West Brom, or as a right-back or right wing-back like times earlier in the season.

Yet, you sense that his best position is further forward, and out wide in a front three could be where Bilic gets the best out of the former Reading and Nottingham Forest man.

Andy Carroll

There’s no coincidence that West Ham’s upturn in form has concurred with Andy Carroll’s return to fitness.

The England international suffered a knee injury in a Europa League play-off at the start of the season, and didn’t appear in Hammers colours until their 5-1 defeat to Arsenal on December 3.

However, his goal in that match was the first of six in 11 Premier League appearances for Bilic’s side, which included a stunning volley against Crystal Palace, and a brace at Middlesbrough.

His absence against West Brom due to a groin problem will obviously worry Hammers fans, as there is no doubt that West Ham are a better team when Carroll is on the pitch.