West Ham-Arsenal is a match valid for the 31st day of the Premier League and is played on Sunday at 3 pm: TV, predictions.
A derby to be won at all costs. A must-win derby for Arsenal, back on Manchester City’s neck after the last day of the Premier League.
The consecutive winning streak of the Gunners, coming off seven straight victories, came to a halt last Sunday at Anfield against Liverpool (2-2), with Mikel Arteta’s men even squandering a double lead at home to the Reds. The regret is huge for the league leader, who for almost a game time cherished the idea of returning to London with three points that would have been crucial. The Citizens, meanwhile, twenty-four hours earlier had demolished Southampton, a clear-cut victory that allowed them to shorten the gap to the Londoners, who moreover played one more game. There are now six points separating the two title contenders but Pep Guardiola’s men still have to make up the challenge with West Ham, postponed last March 19 to allow the defending champions to play the FA Cup quarterfinal. And on the horizon is the highly anticipated direct clash at Etihad Stadium, scheduled for April 26. The risk that for Arsenal it could all come crashing down at the most beautiful, in short, is real.
Gunners with their breath on their necks
Xhaka and his teammates will travel to East London with all the pressure in this world and, above all, they will take the field already knowing the result of Manchester City, engaged again a day earlier against second-last-place Leicester.
Bowen
They will have to reckon with a West Ham side that will certainly not be in a gift-giving mood given the difficult situation the Hammers have been experiencing now since the beginning of the season. David Moyes’ men, protagonists of a season clearly below expectations, are trying to move away from the relegation zone. And with one match still to be played they are only +3 on the third-last place, occupied by Nottingham Forest. In the last four outings, if we exclude the home debacle with Newcastle (1-5), West Ham has secured two wins against Southampton and Fulham, while last Thursday they were satisfied with a draw in the first leg of the Conference League quarterfinals with Belgian side Gent (1-1).
The Prediction
Arsenal’s numbers in derbies this year are impressive. It has won five in a row without conceding a single goal, and in nine out of ten derbies it has managed to take away the three points. You can stay with the visitors, who are obliged to win, but at the London Stadium it is likely that West Ham will also find their way to goal in a match that is less predictable than expected.
The probable lineups of West Ham-Arsenal
- WEST HAM (4-4-2): Fabianski; Kehrer, Ogbonna, Zouma, Cresswell; Bowen, Rice, Soucek, Benrahma; Ings, Antonio.
- ARSENAL (4-2-3-1): Ramsdale; White, Holding, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Xhaka, Partey; Saka, Odegaard, Martinelli; Gabriel Jesus.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 1-2
