West Ham United vs Arsenal 12/12/19

12 December 2019

The two struggling sides go head-to-head at the Olympic Stadium, as West Ham United entertain Arsenal in a massive Premier League (PL) fixture.

The hosts enter this round frantically looking over their shoulders, as they sit just one point above the relegation territory. West Ham’s poor run of form has seen them lose four of their last five league outings, with a 1-0 away win over Chelsea being the sole exception. In fact, it is their only PL triumph since late September, with the Hammers returning just five points from their last nine league fixtures (W1, D2, L6). Manuel Pellegrini has a leaky defense to blame for his team’s downfall, as the Hammers conceded over 1.5 match goals in all but two of those nine games during that period. Allowing the opening goal could prove fatal for the Irons, who have failed to return a single point from six PL matches that saw them concede first.

Meanwhile, the visitors’ nightmare has continued last time out, as they’ve suffered a 2-1 home defeat to Brighton, stretching their winless PL streak to seven straight games (D4, L3). Five of those fixtures during that run have seen Arsenal concede precisely two goals per match, while four witnessed them score one or less. What’s more, the Gunners have failed to pick a single league away win since a 1-0 victory over Newcastle back in August (W1, D3, L3). Freddie Ljungberg’s men have lost twice in their last three PL road trips, drawing a blank on both of those occasions. The one consolation for the traveling side could be that they’ve clinched five wins in eight of their previous top-flight away H2Hs with West Ham (W5, D2, L1), scoring at least three goals per match in five of those meetings.