West Ham travels to the West Midlands and the Molineux to take on Wolverhampton. The argument could be made that the international break couldn’t have come at a worse time for the Hammers. Just prior to the break they went on an incredible run— culminating in a massive home win against Liverpool that saw them rise to third place in the Premier League.
Now the international break has been and gone, David Moyes and his troops will be hoping to keep the momentum going as they head into the busy festive period.
Wolves vs West Ham FYIs:
Kick-off time: 3 PM GMT, 20 November Sunday
West Ham Starting XI Prediction: go here
Premier League Preview Pod: go here
Form Guide (All Competitions): Wolves (WWDWL) West Ham (WWWDW)
In a stat that blew me away when I discovered it, West Ham’s league double over Wolves last season was their first since 1922/23.
Even more incredible is the fact that the Irons haven’t beaten Wolverhampton away from home in back-to-back fixtures since a run of three between 1920 and 1922.
The Hammers seem like a good pick to break these near 100-year-old records this coming weekend.
West Ham is currently on a four-game winning streak in the Premier League. The last time they won five in a row in the Premier League was in 2006 under none other than Alan Pardew.
Enough historical facts, let’s have a look at who is populating the treatment room at the Olympic Stadium heading into this match.
After a bit of a golden run with injury, the Hammers have a few concerns this week. One player is definitely ruled out as Italian Angelo Ogbonna suffered an ACL injury in that incredible victory over Liverpool.
This injury is likely to keep him out for quite some time and potentially the entire season. West Ham is stacked as far as quality center backs go, but that won’t make this any less of a bitter pill to swallow.
There was mild concern when Declan Rice withdrew from the England squad with illness. Several unverified and ultimately nonsense stories about his absence from the national team were doing the rounds early in the international break.
The truth of the matter is the best English defensive midfielder playing the game right now is expected to start against Wolves.
There was some more mild concern when influential duo Pablo Fornals and Tomas Soucek both failed to appear for their national sides in the last World Cup Qualifying fixtures.
The official line is they were both rested to help them recover from minor knocks, and the duo should also play at the Molineux.
I fully expect West Ham to break a hundred-year-old record here and record their first back-to-back wins away against Wolverhampton, whilst simultaneously consolidating their spot inside the top 4 of the Premier League table.