West Ham vs Arsenal Preview:
Possible starting lineups:
West Ham:
Martin; Fredericks, Balbuena, Ogbonna, Cresswell; Yarmolenko, Noble, Rice, Fornals; Anderson; Antonio
Arsenal:
Leno; Bellerin, Sokratis, Luiz, Tierney; Xhaka, Guendouzi; Pepe, Ozil, Aubameyang; Lacazette
West Ham will host Arsenal at the London Stadium in a very important match for both teams. The Hammers are dangerously close to the drop zone and they will try to take advantage from Arsenal's misery. However, no side has beaten West Ham more in the Premier League than Arsenal, who have done so on 29 occasions. It won't be easy for Manuel Pellegrini's players. They are on the 16th place with 16 points, just one point away from the relegation zone. The situation is very complicated. The promising start to the season, which saw them lie in fifth in late September, is a distant memory now. West Ham are in bad form, losing four of the last five matches in the Premier League. They lost 3:2 to Newcastle, 3:0 to Burnley and 3:2 to Tottenham, before producing one of the biggest surprises by beating Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Nevertheless, the positive atmosphere was spoiled by another defeat. On Wednesday they lost 2:0 to Wolverhampton. It is clear the defense isn't at desired level, the Hammers have conceded 18 goals in their last nine league games. West Ham also suffered a Carabao Cup elimination by League One outfit Oxford. Pellegrini remain under pressure, as well as the players. Goalkeeper Lucasz Fabianski is still sidelined and that's a huge handicap. The third-choice keeper David Martin, who impressed against Chelsea, will probably start here. Manuel Lanzini is still out after fracturing his collarbone against Burnley, while Michail Antonio, Jack Wilshere and Winston Reid are rated as doubtful. Robert Snodgrass, who picked up a knock against Wolves, is expected to be fit.
Arsenal started the season very good, but then completely disappoint. At the moment they have 19 points, ten adrift of a top-four Champions League qualifying spot. This is the club worst run of results in 27 years. That was the key reason why the owner Stan Kroenke decided to sack Unai Emery. Ex-Gunners player Freddie Ljungberg was appointed as an interim coach. He played for Arsenal between 1998 and 2007 and the fans love him very much. But the Swedish international has no previous managerial experience and that seems a big problem. Arsenal failed to win on his debut, playing a 2:2 draw with Norwich City. His next match was even worse, Ljungberg lost 2:1 to Brighton at the Emirats. The overall form is bad, the Gunners have no win on the last seven matches in the Premier League. They lost to Sheffield United, Leicester and Brighton, while shared the points with Crystal Palace, Wolves, Southampton and Norwich. Arsenal have collected just four of the possible 21 points. Worst of all, the atmosphere in the squad is bad following the Xhaka incident. He was part of Ljungberg's squad in both matches, but the fans' reaction wasn't positive. Two players remain sidelined through injury - Dani Ceballos and Rob Holding, though all the other are ready. Ljungberg will probably make some changes. Summer signing Pepe will probably make his first league start since October.
West Ham vs Arsenal Preview:
I do not expect more than three goals at London Stadium. West Ham have scored just once in the last two matches. By the way, they both finished with Under 2.5 goals. The Gunners, meanwhile, are out of form and the players confidence is low. Arsenal have failed to score on their last two visits to West Ham, with both games producing just one goal. Four goals sound too much for the clash between two out-of-form teams.
West Ham vs Arsenal Pick: Under 3.5 goals @ 1.79 with
Pinnacle