West Ham United vs Wolverhampton Wanderers 15/03/20

15 March 2020

West Ham United and Wolverhampton Wanderers will face off at the Olympic Stadium in what promises to be a ‘low-scoring’ Premier League (PL) affair. Indeed, five of their last seven top-flight H2Hs have featured under 2.5 goals, with only two seeing both teams on the scoresheet.

A slightly better goal difference is the only thing that separates West Ham and relegation-threatened Bournemouth ahead of the kick-off, with the home side losing three of their last four league matches (W1). Things don’t look good for the Irons, who have lost six of their past 11 PL home fixtures (W2, D3), conceding over 1.5 goals on seven of those occasions. David Moyes’ men usually zone out after the break, with 65% of their total PL home goals conceded coming in the second half of play (17/26). In order to boost their hopes of avoiding defeat here, the Hammers must prevent Wolves from scoring the opening goal, as they lost all five of their PL home games in which they’ve shipped the opener.

The visitors’ frustratingly slow away starts could come in handy, considering Wolves have conceded the opening goal in ten of 14 PL road trips so far this season – more than any other side. Yet, the Wanderers rescued more away points than any other team (15), losing only three such fixtures (W4, D3). Indeed, while 76% (13) of Wolves’ total 17 PL away goals conceded came before the break, 76% of their league goals scored on the road arrived in the second half (14/20). But, their competitive away H2H record against West Ham in the 21st century shows the winning side always opens the scoring. In fact, all five of their such H2Hs since the turn of the new millennium have seen the winner on the day break the deadlock, with four yielding a clean sheet (W2, L3).