West Ham United welcome Arsenal to the London Stadium in a blockbuster London derby in the first of two Super Sunday clashes.
Victory will see West Ham remain fifth but move level on points with fourth-placed Chelsea, whereas Arsenal can go ninth for at least a few hours with a win.
Team News
Jesse Lingard is set to return for West Ham after being ineligible to play against his parent club last Sunday, as West Ham lost away at Manchester United.
Ryan Fredericks (groin) is set to return but Pablo Fornals is a doubt with his own groin injury.
Darren Randolph (hip), Arthur Masuaku, Andriy Yarmolenko (both knee) and Angelo Ogbonna (ankle) remain on the sidelines.
Arsenal could be without Willian after the Brazilian suffered a calf injury just before Thursday’s Europa League defeat to Olympiacos.
Bukayo Saka missed the match with a hamstring injury and will join Willian in facing a late fitness test pre-match.
Stat Attack
- West Ham have won just one of their last six meetings against Arsenal (W1, L5).
- Arsenal have lost just one of their last five trips to the London Stadium (W2, D2, L1).
- Each of Arsenal’s last seven goals in this fixture have come from strikers, with Alexandre Lacazette scoring for the Gunners in their last two meetings.
- Two of Jesse Lingard’s four goals for West Ham since joining in late January have come at the London Stadium, with the Hammers winning on both occasions (W2).
- Two of Arsenal’s last five away goals have come from Nicholas Pepe.
Prediction
Having gone for quite a bold five-man defence at Man Utd last weekend, West Ham will be disappointed to have left without a point because despite lacking much attacking intent, they defended well despite Craig Dawson’s own goal costing them a decent result.
Arsenal meanwhile continue to carry defensive issues throughout their matches without any signs of improvement, which is a real worry especially off the back of Thursday’s sloppy all-round performance in their defeat to Olympiacos.
Mikel Arteta will therefore expect a reaction here especially after their dominance in last Sunday’s North London derby, but if West Ham come out and play their attacking game more then I think a point could well be on the cards if not the win if can crack the Gunners’ defence.
Prediction: West Ham 1-1 Arsenal
Result: West Ham 3-3 Arsenal
Leave a Reply