West Ham vs Arsenal Prediction, Betting Tips & Preview

Preview

Haydn Cunningham Apr 06, 2016 @ 08:48 pm

Slaven Bilic has done a monumental job in his debut season at West Ham. The charismatic Croat was a very popular figure back in his playing days as a West Ham player but he has gained even more admirers since taking over as manager. He appears to have taken them up a level from Sam Allardyce whilst also keeping the expectant fans happy which takes some doing. The currently sit in 6^th place, just 3 points off Manchester City in 4^th. Europa League is the minimum for them this season but they’ll be dreaming of a place in the Champions League but the Europa League could be a good stepping stone for them next season. They qualified for the competition this year through the fair play league but Bilic didn’t prioritise the competition they had to compete in as early as June and were handed an early exit in the qualifying rounds.

Arsenal just have the Premier League title to fight for as a disastrous March saw Arsenal eliminated from the Champions League and the FA Cup. They trail Leicester by 11 points but do boast a game in hand. Fans may have already resigned to the fact the Premier League looks set to run away from the Emirates once again but the supporters will be desperately hoping they finish above arch rivals Tottenham. Arsenal have recorded back-to-back victories for the first time since February with wins over Everton and Watford. Alex Iwobi has rewarded the faith kept in him by Arsene Wenger with two goals in his last two games and the youngster looks to have cemented his place in the squad. It was the best dish of revenge in the hammering of Watford last weekend as it was Watford who recently knocked Arsenal out of the FA Cup to prevent the Gunners from retaining the title they’ve won in the past two seasons.

West Ham recorded one of their finest results of the campaign at the Emirates as they stunned the home crowd with a 2-0 victory on the opening day of the season. It was a performance that gave the West Ham fans hope that Bilic could be the man to take them up a notch and so it has proved. Dimitri Payet made his debut in English football and he’s turned out to be one of the signings of the summer. His free kicks have become a trademark and he’s scored 4 goals in his last 5 appearances for club and country.

Cheick Kouyate picked up a straight red card in the 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace and the midfielder will now serve a 3 match suspension. Pedro Obiang is the likely candidate to step in and partner Mark Noble in midfield. Arsenal are missing a number of players in midfield with Mathieu Flamini, Aaron Ramsey, Jack Wilshere, Tomas Rosicky, Santi Cazorla and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain out. Carl Jenkinson had his loan cut short at West Ham due to injury and has returned to Arsenal for treatment.

West Ham

Stats: W-13 L-6 D-12

Recent Form – DDDWW

Arsenal

Stats: W-17 L-7 D-7                                          

Recent Form - WWLLW

Head-to-head record:

Possible Line-ups

West Ham (4-2-3-1) – Adrian, Antonio, Reid, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Obiang, Noble, Valencia, Lanzini, Payet, Sakho

Arsenal (4-2-3-1) – Ospina, Bellerin, Gabriel, Koscielny, Monreal, Elneny, Coquelin, Sanchez, Ozil, Iwobi, Welbeck

Injury List/Suspended Players

West Ham – Byram (inj), Collins (inj), Kouyate (sus)

Arsenal – Cazorla (inj), Flamini (inj), Oxlade-Chamberlain (inj), Ramsey (inj), Wilshere (inj), Rosicky (inj)

West Ham v Arsenal Head to Head

League Positions