In the words of the immortal poet Tupac Shakur “on this west side, cause you and I know it’s the best side.” Yes, it’s West Wednesday as West Ham United visits West Bromwich Albion, or simply West Ham at West Brom. It’s a clash of one already relegated side hosting a club battling for Europa League qualification.
It looks like the final pair of Champions League positions will be filled by two of Chelsea, Liverpool and Leicester City. That means the left out side will drop into Europa, with West Ham and Tottenham fighting to finish sixth and join them.
West Ham United at West Bromwich FYIs
Kickoff: Wed May 19, 8:15 pm, The Hawthorns Stadium
West Ham United Starting XI Prediction: go here
Form Guide: West Ham WLLWLD West Brom WLDDLL
PL Position: West Ham 7th, 59 pts West Brom 19th, 26 pts
Odds: West Ham -159 West Brom +400 Draw +300
Team News
We start with West Brom who generally have a pretty clean bill of health. The only exceptions are Branislav Ivanovic and Robert Snodgrass, a former Hammer, who are out for the season.
West Ham have doubts over Arthur Masuaku and Manuel Lanzini. Both face late fitness tests, but could feature, in some capacity, in this one. Declan Rice returned to action over the weekend against Brighton, and he did not suffer any kind of relapse.
Prediction: West Ham 2, West Brom 0
It’s crunch time, and only one of these two teams has anything left to play for. It also happens to be the more talented and higher priced side, so we’re backing them in this one.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.