West Ham hosts Arsenal at the London Stadium this Sunday (local time) in what could prove to be a crucial match in the top four race.
Despite West Ham not having a realistic chance of finishing in the top four, they can still have a say regarding which club wins the race. Provided Tottenham win their clash against Leicester, West Ham can hand Spurs the advantage in the race for Champions League football with a win over the Gunners.
In order to do that, West Ham will have to buck a worrying trend that has developed when playing Arsenal. Incredibly, since doing the league double over Arsenal in the 2006/07 season, the Hammers have lost 20 of the 27 Premier League clashes with the Gunners since.
David Moyes will implore his players to avoid wild challenges in this match. Craig Dawson’s dismissal against Chelsea last time out left the Hammers with a record of 28 red cards in league London derbies, far more than any other side.
West Ham vs Arsenal FYIs
When is it? Sunday, May 1st, 2022 4.30 PM PM Local Time.
Where is it? London Stadium, London.
Starting XI Predictions: Arsenal West Ham
Who’s in form? West Ham (LWDLL) Arsenal (LLLWW)
What are the odds? West Ham (+340) Arsenal (-125) Draw (+280)
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Starting XI Prediction
Lukasz Fabianski will return between the posts after sitting out the Europa League semi-final against Eintracht Frankfurt.
Defense is where it gets tricky for the Hammers. As we covered in the West ham team news for this fixture, the East Londoners are suffering somewhat of a central defender injury/suspension crisis. With that in mind, I have Kurt Zouma starting despite just returning from injury.
Ben Johnson comes in from right-back to partner the Frenchman in central defense. Czech Vladimir Coufal will start at right-back in place of Johnson, while Aaron Cresswell will start at left-back.
Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek will start as the defensive midfield pivot. Andriy Yarmolenko comes in for Manuel Lanzini to provide the attacking thrust from the center of the park.
The attacking wing options will need to be rotated, as well. That means Nikola Vlasic comes in for Pablo Fornals, whilst Said Benrahma comes in for Jarrod Bowen. Tireless number nine Michail Antonio will hope to back up his Europa League goal with another against the Gunners.
Stuey Predicts
This match has loss written all over it for the Hammers. Their record against Arsenal is woeful, even at home. And on top of that, they will have the dreaded continental hangover. It’s for these reasons I am predicting Arsenal to snuff out any outside chance West ham may have of qualifying for the Champions League via league finish. Arsenal 2-0.
Stuart Kavanagh is an up-and-coming sports journalist from Melbourne, Australia. Along with being the owner of the sports and entertainment website thepyrrhic.com, he is also the co-host of the ‘After Extra Time’ podcast. Football mad, he is always down for debate and discussion at @stueyissickofit on Twitter.