West Ham v Wolves predictions: Take Tomas Soucek to open the scoring

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for the West Ham v Wolves Premier League match on Sunday.

Where to watch

Sky Sports Premier League & Main Event, 2pm Sunday

Best bet

Tomas Soucek first goalscorer
1pt each-way 11-1 bet365

Team news

West Ham
Vladimir Coufal, Angelo Ogbonna and Arthur Masuaku are injured. Andrei Yarmolenko won't play but Manuel Lanzini should be fit.

Wolves
Nelson Semedo is a major doubt. Willy Boly is out.

Match preview

A top-four battle which few would have foreseen takes place at the London Stadium between two sides with points to prove – and expect it to be close.

David Moyes cursed West Ham's worst performance of the season at home to struggling Newcastle last week, a match they were fortunate to emerge from with a 1-1 draw.

A few days later Bruno Lage had no excuses after seeing his side well beaten at Arsenal where the 2-1 scoreline flattered Wolves rather than the victors.

Despite those hiccups, West Ham versus Wolves is still very much a fixture between two clubs with realistic top-four aspirations given the reluctance of any of their more established rivals for fourth spot to surge clear.

That makes this match hugely significant for both teams and comes at a decent time for the Hammers, who haven't played since Saturday. Wolves, meanwhile, have played two matches in that period, culminating in Thursday's sapping defeat at Arsenal.

Lage doesn't have the biggest squad so it'll be interesting to see how he manages the likes of Joao Moutinho, Ruben Neves and Raul Jimenez and just how much they have left in the tank for this contest.

West Ham are clear favourites, although the Hammers have only won one of their last five in the league and lost at Molineux earlier in the campaign.

Moyes will hope to have Manuel Lanzini back – they missed the creative Argentinian against the Magpies.

And they'll also hope to strike gold with another one of their well-rehearsed set-piece routines, which had yielded a league-high 16 goals going into the weekend.

Given that only two teams have conceded more goals from set-plays than Wolves, there is a clear temptation to back an aerial threat like Craig Dawson or Tomas Soucek to score. Dawson has just bagged two in two while Soucek has three for the season and, unlike his defensive teammate, is more prominent in general attacking play.

Wolves are massive improvers this season under Lage, who endured a slow start but has seen his side flourish into a tight, hard-working unit.

Only the top three sides have won more away games than Wanderers and they've lost only two of their last nine - both at the hands of Arsenal.

It's just the rigours of the last week which work against them, especially so deep into the season.

Key stat

West Ham have scored 16 goals from set-pieces this season, the most in the Premier League.

Inside info

West Ham

Penalty taker Manuel Lanzini
Free-kick wizard Manuel Lanzini/Aaron Cresswell
Set-piece aerial threat Declan Rice
Card magnet Craig Dawson

Wolves

Penalty taker Raul Jimenez
Free-kick wizardRuben Neves
Set-piece aerial threatRuben Neves
Card magnetRomain Saiss

Not got a bet365 account? Bet £10 & get £50 in free bets

Open account offer. Minimum deposit requirement. Free Bets are paid as bet credits and are available for use upon settlement of bets to value of qualifying deposit. Minimum odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude bet credits stake. Time limits/T&Cs apply. 18+ begambleaware.org

CLAIM OFFER HERE

MORE FREE BETS

Today's top sports betting stories

Follow us on Twitter @racingpostsport