West Ham v Arsenal predictions: Gunners should be on target

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for West Ham v Arsenal in the Premier League

Where to watch

Sky Sports Main Event & Premier League, 4.30pm Sunday

Best bet

Arsenal to win & over 1.5 goals
1pt 6-5 Betfair

Team news

West Ham
Craig Dawson is suspended and joins fellow centre-backs Issa Diop and Angelo Ogbonna on the sidelines.

Arsenal
Takehiro Tomiyasu and Bakaya Sako are fit to play. Kieran Tierney and Thomas Partey are still missing.

Match preview

Arsenal can take advantage of West Ham's defensive crisis and alternative agenda to ease to victory at the London Stadium.

The fourth-placed Gunners, fresh from outstanding wins over Chelsea and Manchester United, can complete a tricky end-of-season treble to press home their claims for the final Champions League place.

Arsenal are odds-on, inevitable really given the timing of the game just days before the Hammers head for Eintracht Frankfurt for part two of their Europa League semi-final.

But with just eight points between the sides, punters may be forgiven for feeling slightly uneasy about taking such a short price about the away team in what should still be a fairly intense derby, no matter who wears claret and blue.

The advice – if you fancy Mikel Arteta's men – is to turn that into something slightly more appetising by backing Arsenal to win and over 1.5 goals. The Gunners have just won 4-2 at Chelsea and beaten Manchester United 3-1, so there are goals in the tank and no guarantees that the Hammers' makeshift defence will be able to deal with the quality that is going to be coming at them.

It's true that West Ham had only one central defender at Chelsea last week and lost only 1-0. But the Blues had 67 per cent possession, fired off 26 shots and missed a penalty, and on any other day they might have rattled in five or more.

Moyes knew he would be without the crocked Issa Diop and Angelo Ogbonna, but now has to make do without Craig Dawson – sent off at Stamford Bridge – and there are no guarantees that Kurt Zouma will start having returned from a lay-off against Frankfurt on Thursday. Surely Moyes will want the Dutchman fit for this week's return leg where the Premier League side need to overturn a 2-1 deficit.

West Ham are looking increasingly jaded so don't be surprised to see Moyes gamble again on a pick-and-mix back five in a bid to deny Arsenal much space in behind.

The Hammers have won just one of their last six – impressively in Lyon, which gives a clue perhaps where the priority is right now – although they do boast a more than healthy record of having found the net in every home league game, so whoever Moyes perms from up top, they will still carry a threat.

Arsenal have won eight of their last 12 in the league against West Ham, losing only one of those, and after a week's rest from dismantling United, they have to be happy they can improve that record.

Key stat

Just one of Arsenal's last 25 league matches has ended in a draw.

Inside info

West Ham

Penalty taker Lanzini, Rice, Noble
Free-kick wizard Rice, Lanzini
Set-piece aerial threat Tomas Soucek
Card magnet Declan Rice

Arsenal

Penalty taker Bukayo Saka
Free-kick wizard Xhaka, Odegaard
Set-piece aerial threat Gabriel
Card magnet Granit Xhaka

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