Arsenal v West Ham
English Premier League
Emirates Stadium, London, England
Wednesday 23 January, 2013
19:45 GMT
Arsenal have a great chance to close the gap on Everton to just one point in the race for a Champions League place. However, a win for West Ham will take them back into the top half of the table.
Arsenal Preview
Arsenal have not been as strong at home as they would have liked to be this season with five wins, two draws and three defeats. They have suffered recent defeats at the hands of Manchester City and away at Chelsea which will make them determined to improve. They are the odds on favourites to win.
Injuries and Suspensions
Mikel Arteta and Tomas Rosicky will both miss the match with calf injuries. Gervinho remains away at the African Cup of Nations which restricts his availability for the rest of the month.
Lukasz Fabianski remains out with a back problem while Alex Oxlaide-Chamberlain and Lukas Podolski have both been ill and are unlikely to be fit.
West Ham United Preview
West Ham always enjoy good support away from home which is important as their record is abysmal; two wins, two draws and six defeats. The problem for Sam Allardyce has been getting the side scoring goals with only five scored away, the lowest in the Premier League.
Injuries and Suspensions
Modibo Maiga is another player away at the African Cup of Nations. Andy Carroll is closing in on a return from a knee injury but is not going to feature. Key defenders James Collins and George McCartney are also set to miss out with hamstring and knee problems.
Arsenal v West Ham Statistics
Arsenal have been enduring one of their worst seasons in recent memory with just nine wins, seven draws and six defeats which is twice the number of losses compared to Manchester United. Conceding goals has been the problem with 26 both home and away, with a total of four more conceded at home.
West Ham have suffered three more defeats than the Gunners against their seven wins and six draws. West Ham have a goal difference of minus three from all games played and it’s the attack struggling to score with only 25 goals scored in all matches this season.
Head to Head
The Hammers have made the trip from East London to North London on 61 occasions. Arsenal have the far superior win rate with 26 victories compared to West Ham’s 16 and all other matches ending in draws (19).
Arsenal ran out 1-0 winners when this fixture was last played in the 2010/2011 season.
Recent Form
Arsenal are not on a good run of form having lost back-to-back Premier League matches against Chelsea and Manchester City, opening up January with a 1-1 draw away at Southampton.
West Ham have a win, a draw and a defeat so far this month. They go into the game after a 1-1 draw at home against QPR, with their only January win coming on New Years Day 2-1 at home against Norwich City.
Arsenal v West Ham United Prediction
Considering the importance of this match for Arsenal, anything other than a home win would be surprising. Arsenal are missing a couple of key players but they still have enough fire power to ensure the victory.
Prediction: Arsenal 2-0 West Ham
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