There’s a London derby to enjoy in the Premier League on Saturday evening as Arsenal take on West Ham United at the London Stadium.
The Gunners have been purring since the November break, with the return of Martin Odegaard improving Mikel Arteta’s side in a litany of areas. The skipper was influential as Arsenal beat Nottingham Forest 3-0 last weekend and Sporting CP, one of the European sides not to have lost at home in 18 months. 5-1 on Tuesday night.
The title contenders are aiming to close the gap on league leaders Liverpool to six points before the Reds face Manchester City on Sunday.
West Ham caused Arteta’s side some problems last year, but the Gunners more than made up for their two defeats in 2023 by hammering the Irons 6-0 in February. The Hammers go into Saturday’s clash on the back of a morale-boosting 2-0 win at Newcastle United on Monday night, but their form at the start of Julen Lopetegui’s reign has been sketchy at best. , stop. They are 14th in the table after 12 games.
here it is 90 minutes preview of this Saturday’s Premier League shock
West Ham vs Arsenal head-to-head results (last five games)
Current form (all competitions)
|
West Ham |
arsenal |
|---|---|
|
Newcastle 0-2 West Ham – 25/11/24 |
Sporting CP 1-5 Arsenal – 26/11/24 |
|
West Ham 0-0 Everton – 09/11/24 |
Arsenal 3-0 Nottingham Forest – 23/11/24 |
|
Nottingham Forest 3-0 West Ham – 02/11/24 |
Chelsea 1-1 Arsenal – 11/10/24 |
|
West Ham 2-1 Man Utd – 27/10/24 |
Inter 1-0 Arsenal – 24/11/06 |
|
Tottenham 4-1 West Ham – 19/10/24 |
Newcastle 1-0 Arsenal – 24/11/02 |
|
country |
TV channel/live broadcast |
|---|---|
|
united kingdom |
Sky Go UK, NOW, SKY GO Extra, Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Premier League, Sky Ultra HD |
|
united states |
fuboTV, nbcsports.com, NBC Sports App, USA Network |
|
canada |
DAZN Canada |
Lopetegui will be forced to watch from the stands on Saturday as a result of his one-match ban, but the West Ham manager has Lucas Paqueta at his disposal this weekend after the Brazilian missed out on collecting his Newcastle’s fifth yellow card of the season. .
Mohammed Kudus, however, remains suspended.
The Hammers head into the contest with a relatively clean bill of health. The only forced absence due to injury will be Niclas Fullkrug, who has an Achilles problem.
West Ham predicted line-up against Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Fabianski; One-Bissaka, Todibo, Kilman, Emerson; Rodriguez, Soucek; Bowen, Package, Summerville; Anthony
The visitors have no fresh concerns for their midweek clash in Lisbon and Arteta could name an unchanged team for Saturday’s game.
Mikel Merino will hope to return to the XI after starting last time out in the Premier League, while Jorginho started ahead of Thomas Partey in the 3-0 win over Forest. Partey will likely keep his place at the base of midfield given his impressive form. Declan Rice, however, is unsure of his place in the XI on his return home to the London Stadium.
Takehiro Tomiyasu and Ben White are the only absentees due to injury.
Arsenal predicted line-up against West Ham (4-3-3): Stripe; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; Partey, Rice, Odegaard; Saka, Havertz, Martinelli.
West Ham may have pulled off a big national win last time out, but it’s hard to tell whether Monday night’s triumph will facilitate a remarkable rebound. The Hammers have failed to convince so far under Lopetegui and are assuming one arsenal team up for blood.
The Gunners are ready to get the title race back on track and will know that only a long winning run will be enough. They have been brilliant over the last two games and this West Ham side will struggle to provide plenty of resistance to keep them at bay.
This should be a comfortable away win.
