West Ham United vs Wolverhampton Wanderers 28/09/20

28 September 2020

West Ham United will be looking to kick-start their 2020/21 Premier League season when they meet Wolverhampton Wanderers at Olympic Stadium this weekend.

New season, same West Ham – after narrowly avoiding relegation back in 2019/20, the ‘Hammers’ have failed to step up their game, losing both of their opening 2020/21 Premier League fixtures. A lack of concentration in the late stages has seen David Moyes’ side concede a goal on or beyond the 85-minute mark against both Newcastle United and Arsenal. Standing in West Ham’s way now is Wolverhampton, a side they’ve lost ‘to nil’ in all four of their previous top-flight H2Hs. In turn, all four of the Irons’ home Premier League defeats this calendar year have seen them draw a blank. Conceding the opening goal could as well put an end to West Ham’s hopes of winning, considering they lost seven of nine home league matches in which they shipped the opener last season (W1, D1, L7).

Meanwhile, the visitors have failed to build on a 2-0 away win over Sheffield United in their Premier League curtain-raiser, succumbing to a 3-1 home loss to Manchester City last time out. Curiously, both of those fixtures have seen precisely two goals scored/conceded come inside the opening 35 minutes of play. The ‘clean-sheet’ theme remains significant in the context of Wolves’ recent fortunes on the road. Indeed, all five of their previous away league results (wins/losses) have seen the winner on the day shut out the loser, the 2019/20 season included. What’s more, five of their last six competitive trips to West Ham have seen the winning side preserve a blank sheet (W3, L3).