West Ham United vs Arsenal 12/01/19

12 January 2019

West Ham United and Arsenal will face-off at the London Stadium as the hosts hope to end a disastrous 11-game home winless run against the city rivals (D3, L8).

The Irons have opened 2019 with a 2-2 home draw with Brighton after which they’ve secured a comfortable 2-0 win over Birmingham in the FA Cup. Still, the Hammers are winless in their last two Premier League games (D1, L1), having also failed to wrap up all three points in the previous two home outings (D1, L1). Manuel Pellegrini’s main problem relates to his team’s awful defending that has seen West Ham keeping just three clean sheets in 21 league matches this season. Only three teams have shipped more goals at home than the Irons (18) this campaign, with West Ham conceding a goal in ten of their 11 home clashes so far. Although won only two of their last five home encounters (W2, D1, L2), the Hammers have scored over 1.5 goals per match three times in that period.

On the other hand, the Gunners have secured a pair of victories in 2019, scoring over 2.5 goals per match in each. But, having lost two of their last five Premier League meetings, Arsenal now have to pull off a win if looking to prevent the fourth-placed Chelsea from extending a three-point gap. Unai Emery’s players have failed to clinch a triumph on their last four Premier League road trips (D2, L2), conceding over 1.5 goals per match three times in the process. Just three teams have allowed more goals on the road than Arsenal (21) this season, as the Gunners remain the only team in the English top tier to concede a goal in each of their ten road clashes. Meanwhile, Arsenal are one of three teams to hit the back of the net on every PL road trip this term, with Emery’s men scoring over 1.5 goals per match in eight away meetings so far.

Provisional line-up – West Ham:

Gk: Fabianski Defense: Zabaleta – Ogbonna – Issa Diop – Cresswell Midfield: Obiang – Declan Rice – Snodgrass Attack: Felipe Anderson – Arnautovic – Andy Carroll

Provisional line-up – Arsenal:

Gk: Leno Defense: Kolasinac – Sokratis – Lichtsteiner – Maitland-Niles Midfield: Xhaka – Guendouzi – Torreira Attack: Iwobi – Aubameyang – Lacazette