Arsenal-West Ham United betting preview
Looking at the upcoming EPL fixtures, Arsenal’s venerated coach Arsène Wenger might just think that a storm has been over. The team has done away with all the difficult matches. Their opponents for the forthcoming matches are West Ham, Hull, Newcastle, West Brom and Norwich – all the teams except for Newcastle are in the bottom half of the league table. They will be confident that they can improve upon their current fifth position and secure a Champions League berth for the next season by surpassing Everton.
West Ham United are the clear underdog for this fixture for two reasons. First, their recent league form is not that great – four defeats and just two wins in their last six matches. Second, their H2H record against Arsenal are absolutely underwhelming. It has been 12 games and seven years since they defeated Arsenal. Furthermore, the Gunners have won all their last eight matches against Hammers.
Even amidst such glum backdrop, what offers hope for West Ham are the poor recent run of Arsenal in the premier league. Arsenal have managed just two wins in their last nine premier league appearances. That is the reason why the team, which had been the front runners of the league for most of 2013, is now fighting for a UEFA Champions League berth.
Injuries to key players have been Arsenal’s constant bane. They have a large pool – in fact, the largest in the league – of injured players so much so that they can compile a starting eleven composed exclusively of the injured players. Olivier Giroud, Aaron Ramsey and Lukas Podolski are some of their few fit top players.
West Ham’s Kevin Nolan and Andrew Carroll will look forward to exploit the much-maligned Arsenal defence.
Arsenal-West Ham United Prediction
West Ham tend to adopt an overly defensive strategy against big clubs. They will be delighted with a draw. Arsenal, lacking creativity due to the absence of their midfield virtuosos, might just oblige.
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