Arsenal - West Ham Prediction and Analysis
Arsenal host West Ham at the Emirates Stadium on Boxing Day as the Premier League resumes after the World Cup break.
This is one of three London derbies to be played in this round of English football's elite.
The Gunners are at the top of the table after 12 wins in 14 games and just one loss so far.
While the Hammers are just a point above the relegation zone, having lost 9 of their 15 matches .
Home manager Mikel Arteta will be desperate to pick up where his side left off in November.
The Gunners will look to make a good start and take an early lead against a West Ham side lacking in confidence.
Anything less than 3 points here will feel like a defeat and Arsenal will not settle for a draw at any point.
Given their poor form ahead of the World Cup, the break came at a good time for David Moyes' side.
Now the Hammers have the chance to break their poor run of results.
As the visitors would be overjoyed if this match ends in a draw.
In this regard, West Ham are likely to play quite defensively with little interest in possession.
If Arsenal fail to score, it is very possible to see a goalless draw.
However, I do not believe this will happen.
I even think that the Gunners' forwards will pierce the Hammers' net a few times today.
Prediction: Arsenal to win with a clean sheet.
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Arsenal - statistics and info
Mikel Arteta's side have been phenomenal this season.
In 14 Premier League games, they dropped points just twice:
- a surprising 1-1 draw away to Southampton
- 1-3 defeat by Manchester United
With the second best goalscoring record in the division (2.4 scored per game) and the second best defensive record (0.8 conceded per game), the Gunners are worthy leaders.
Since their defeat at Old Trafford, Arsenal have won four straight in the Premier League.
Including 3-1 at home to Tottenham and 3-2 at home to Liverpool.
They took 22 points out of a possible 24 after that only defeat.
Before the break, the Gunners won 1-0 against Chelsea and 2-0 against Wolves.
Arsenal beat Lyon and Marseille in friendlies during the break before losing 2-0 to Juventus.
The Gunners had Gabriel Saliba on duty with the French national team right up until the World Cup final on 18 December.
So it's unclear if he'll be given time to recover or if he'll be put right back into action.
The rest of the national team must be available.
Including Ben White, who returned home early from his England duty.
Gabriel Jesus is out with a knee injury sustained in a match for Brazil.
But his compatriot Gabriel Martinelli is available.
Eddie Nketiah will lead the North London side's attack with top scorer Martin Odegaard in support.
Emil Smith Rowe, Alexander Zinchenko and Reiss Nelson could all miss out as this match comes too soon for them after injuries.
West Ham - statistics and info
I would describe this season as a difficult one for David Moyes' team. Because they lost 9 out of 15 league games, with only 3 clean sheets .
Surprisingly, however, only three teams have conceded fewer goals per game (1.1) than the Hammers.
The bigger problem is that they have only scored 12 goals this season .
As their best scorers, they have only 2 goals to their accounts.
Before the break , West Ham had lost 5 of their last 8 games on all fronts.
With two wins in the Conference League and a solitary win in the Championship at home to Bournemouth.
This win is their only success in 6 Premier League matches with only 4 points accumulated in them.
West Ham beat Cambridge United and Udinese in friendlies over the break to draw 1-1 with Fulham.
The Hammers had five players at the World Cup . Like Alphonse Areola and Nayef Agerd were the best.
The latter was struggling with a hamstring injury picked up against Morocco. And he is not expected to participate in this match.
And Declan Rice and Lucas Paqueta both crashed out in the quarter-finals and should start without a problem for David Moyes' side.
Max Cornett and Aaron Creswell suffered minor injuries, but both are likely to return to the lineup.
As well as Gianluca Scamakka, whose ankle injury has subsided and looks fit for this game.
Squads and injured footballers
Arsenal
Lineup: Ramsdale; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Tierney; Jacka, Party; Saka, Odegaard, Martinelli; Nketia
Injured: Jesus, Nelson
Substitute: Rove, Zinchenko
West Ham
Lineup: Fabian; Kerrer, Dawson, Ogbonna, Palmieri; Rice, Suchek; Fornal, Paquette, Benrahma; Bowen
Injured: Zouma
Substitute: Antonio, Scamaca, Agerd, Creswell, Cornet
League standings and form
| # | Team | M | P | R | H | OG | DG | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 14 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 33 | 11 | 37 | |
| 2 | Man City | 14 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 40 | 14 | 32 | |
| 3 | Newcastle | 15 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 29 | 11 | 30 | |
| 4 | Tottenham | 15 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 31 | 21 | 29 | |
| 5 | Man Utd | 14 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 20 | 20 | 26 | |
| 6 | Liverpool | 14 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 28 | 17 | 22 | |
| 7 | Brighton | 14 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 23 | 19 | 21 | |
| 8 | Chelsea | 14 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 17 | 17 | 21 | |
| 9 | Fulham | 15 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 24 | 26 | 19 | |
| 10 | Brentford | 15 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 23 | 25 | 19 | |
| 11 | Palace | 14 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 15 | 18 | 19 | |
| 12 | Aston Villa | 15 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 16 | 22 | 18 | |
| 13 | Leicester | 15 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 25 | 25 | 17 | |
| 14 | Bournemouth | 15 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 18 | 32 | 16 | |
| 15 | Leeds | 14 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 22 | 26 | 15 | |
| 16 | West Ham | 15 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 12 | 17 | 14 | |
| 17 | Everton | 15 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 11 | 17 | 14 | |
| 18 | Nottingham | 15 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 11 | 30 | 13 | |
| 19 | Southampton | 15 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 13 | 27 | 12 | |
| 20 | Wolves | 15 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 8 | 24 | 10 |
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