Arsenal make the short trip to West Ham United for a London derby on Saturday that kicks off Premier League match day 22 of 38. The Gunners come in fifth in the table with 41 points, three behind another London rival, Chelsea, for a spot in the top four. The Hammers enter the weekend in 10th place with 28 points.
Let’s take a look at the team news and injury list for both sides, starting with the hosts. The Hammers headliner here is obviously striker Marko Arnautovic, who was subbed off about midway through the first half of the 2-0 FA Cup win over Birmingham City.
Manager Manuel Pellegrini said after the game that Arnautovic’s removal was only precautionary, and thus he’s reportedly fully fit and available for selection.
Reports have circulated that another striker, Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez is set to return to training this week. Ditto for Ryan Fredericks. It’s also possible that centre back Fabian Balbuena could make a return at London Stadium this weekend, after having missed the last four matches due to a knee injury.
However, Pellegrini will still be without the services of his four long-term injury absentees: Andriy Yarmolenko, Carlos Sanchez, Manuel Lanzini and Winston Reid.
In switching over to the hosts, Unai Emery received news this week that was a major boost to his squad. It appears the injury crisis might just be over as six Arsenal players are now back in full training ahead of this clash.
According to the official Arsenal website, all six: Hector Bellerin (calf), Laurent Koscielny (back), Konstantinos Mavropanos (groin), Shkodran Mustafi (hamstring), Nacho Monreal (hamstring) and Mesut Ozil (knee) are in line to be in contention this weekend.
Arsenal will still be without their four long term injury absentees though. They included Henrikh Mkhitaryan (foot), Rob Holding (knee) and Danny Welbeck (ankle).
Arsenal FC at West Ham United FYIs
Kickoff/TV: Saturday, January 12, 12:30 PM local, London Stadium, BT Sport
Arsenal Starting XI Prediction: go to this link
Google Result Probability: Arsenal FC Win 46%, Draw 26%, West Ham United win 28%
Odds via Odds Checker: West Ham United 28/11, Draw 3/1, Arsenal FC 11/10
Prediction: West Ham 2, Arsenal 2
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
He also contributes sociopolitical essays to Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.