West Ham vs Arsenal Preview:
Possible starting lineups
West Ham:
Fabianski; Kehrer, Ogbonna, Zouma, Cresswell; Bowen, Rice, Soucek, Benrahma; Ings, Antonio
Arsenal:
Ramsdale; White, Holding, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Xhaka, Partey; Saka, Odegaard, Martinelli; Jesus
West Ham host the league leaders Arsenal at the London Stadium in a very important match for both sides. The Hammers have 30 points and they are just three away from the drop zone. West Ham are in good form, winning two of the last three matches in the Premier League. David Moyes' men managed to beat Southampton and Fulham, but lost to Newcastle. The Hammers are looking to win back-to-back league games for the first time since October. They also played an 1:1 draw with Gent in the first leg of their Europa Conference League quarter-final. It is a solid result and the Hammers are in good position to make back-to-back European semi-finals. Danny Ings scored his first goal in European competitions in the first half, but the Belgium side equalized in the 56th minute through Hugo Cuypers. The atmosphere in the Hammers' squad is good, while the players confidence is higher. Moyes has most of his key players available, but striker Gianluca Scamacca will miss out as he prepares to undergo a knee surgery. Nevertheless, Moyes will probably rotate his players as the second match against the Belgian side is coming just four days later.
Arsenal survived Anfield last weekend, but dropped two points. It is very hard to evaluate if the draw is good or bad result. The Gunners are still at the top of the table with 73 points, but second-placed Manchester City are in "pole position." The Citizens will be champions if they win all remaining fixtures. However, Arteta's men will not give up easily. The overall form is very good, they have seven victories and just one draw in the last eight matches in the Premier League. Arsenal managed to beat Aston Villa, Leicester City, Everton, Bournemouth, Fulham, Crystal Palace and Leeds United, while shared the points with Liverpool last Sunday. It was a fantastic football and it looked like Arsenal are controlling the game when Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus silenced Anfield in the first half. But two-goal lead wasn't enough as Mohamed Salah cut the deficit and Roberto Firmino headed home an equalizer. It could be even worse for Arsenal considering the Salah's missing penalty and couple of scarcely-believable interventions from Aaron Ramsdale. Arteta has one big injury issue ahead of this match. William Saliba will be sidelined two or three weeks due to a back problem. His absence could be crucial in the most important part of the season when Arsenal should face Newcastle United, Manchester City and Chelsea. In addition, Mohamed Elneny and Takehiro Tomiyasu continue their recovery from knee surgeries.
West Ham vs Arsenal Prediction:
I expect an interesting and efficient match in London. West Ham are in solid form, though they suffered a 5:1 defeat to Newcastle two weeks ago. Arsenal are leaders and they are the favorites in this match. The Gunners will go for the victory, but that means West Ham will have lot of space for the fast counter-attacks. The absence of Saliba is a big handicap for Arteta and another reason for my pick. The last six league games of Arsenal have finished with Over 2.5 goals and I think the series will continue.
West Ham vs Arsenal Pick: Over 2.5 goals @ 1.80 with
Everygame