Premier League preview and odds: West Ham United vs Arsenal

Published on: 02/12/2016

Premier League preview and odds: West Ham United vs Arsenal

December 03, 2016 15:00pm - London Stadium

Premier League

West Ham United will be looking for their first win in four Premier League matches when they host city rivals Arsenal and the London Stadium on Saturday evening.

Hammers still hovering above the danger zone

A run of four games without a Premier League win has left West Ham United sitting in 16th place in the table, just one place and one point clear of the drop zone.

Having failed to make progress following last season`s seventh place finish, the Hammers must now try to salvage something from the season and avoid getting dragged into a relegation scrap. However, so far, the Londoners have shown little sign that they have what it takes to escape from their current predicament.

Slaven Bilic`s men have won just one of their last five matches at home but are unbeaten in the last three having drawn against Middlesbrough (1-1) and Stoke City (1-1) either side of a 1-0 win over Sunderland. They come into this game on the back of a 1-1 draw away to Manchester United in the league. However, they were beaten 4-1 by the same team just a few days later in the League Cup.

Meanwhile, opponents Arsenal are defending a 12-game unbeaten run in the Premier League that has left them in fourth place in the table just three points behind leaders Chelsea. A run of three draws in the last five games has prevented the Gunners for creeping higher up the charts.

Arsene Wenger`s men were less resilient in Wednesday night`s League Cup quarter-final when they were undone 2-0 at home by Southampton. Prior to that, they strolled to a 3-1 win at home to Bournemouth in their most recent league fixture.

Team news

The home side will hand a late fitness test to Andy Carroll who has is working his way back from a knee injury, while Aaron Cresswell (groin), Michail Antonio (groin), Diafra Sakho (hamstring) and Sam Byram (hamstring) will all miss out.

Meanwhile, the visitors are waiting on the fitness of Mohamed Elneny and Olivier Giroiud, while Yaya Sanogo (calf), Mathieu Debuchy (hamstring), Hector Bellerin (ankle), Santi Cazorla (leg) and Chuba Akpom (back ) will all miss out.

Recent form (League):

West Ham United: DLDLW

Arsenal: WDDWD

Betting odds and tips

West Ham United face a tough challenge against a team that has yet to lose on the road this season. The Gunners have won four and drawn two of their away games and scored at least one goal in all of their last five.

You can back the Away Win at a decent 3/4 with Bet365.

By Neil Morris

Published on: 02/12/2016

Any odds displayed within this preview were correct at the time of publishing (02/12/2016 17:34:22) but are subject to change.