STAR PREVIEW: West Ham v Arsenal

Arsenal have a new manager but the same old problems and Freddie Ljungberg could be in for another long night when they head to West Ham this evening. Ljungberg has arrived following the departure of Unai Emery and immediately he’s found himself dealing with the same issues that caused the Spaniard to get the sack. A 2-2 draw with Norwich saw the shot count read Norwich 15-16 Arsenal, the shots on target count read 8-7, and the corner count read 7-12 after a haywire 90 minutes.

They were then even worse when losing at home to Brighton, when the visitors won expected goals count 1.8-1.1, dominated the shot count 20-12, and also had 9 shots on target compared to five for the Gunners. The Gunners’ are now winless in nine games, which is now their longest run without a win since 1977, and on the basis of that performance they’re a long way from reaching the Top 4, a 14/1 shot with Star Sports.

Pierre Emerick-Aubmeyang, a dual scorer against Nowich, has been the leading light through the season, with ten Premier League goals to his name, but the rest of the squad has disappointed at various times and it’s hard to see where any immediate changes are coming from.

West Ham v Arsenal
Premier League
20:00 Sky Sports Premier League / Sky Sports Main Event / Sky Sports Ultra HD

HEAD TO HEAD RECORD*
(Maximum 10 matches, Since 2010)
JAN 2019 PREMIER LEAGUE West Ham 1-0 Arsenal
AUG 2018 PREMIER LEAGUE Arsenal 3-1 West Ham
APR 2018 PREMIER LEAGUE Arsenal 4-1 West Ham
DEC 2017 PREMIER LEAGUE West Ham 0-0 Arsenal
APR 2017 PREMIER LEAGUE Arsenal 3-0 West Ham
DEC 2016 PREMIER LEAGUE West Ham 1-5 Arsenal
APR 2016 PREMIER LEAGUE West Ham 3-3 Arsenal
AUG 2015 PREMIER LEAGUE Arsenal 0-2 West Ham
MAR 2015 PREMIER LEAGUE Arsenal 3-0 West Ham
DEC 2014 PREMIER LEAGUE West Ham 1-2 Arsenal

West Ham are not doing any better. They ended a seven match winless streak with a shock win at Chelsea, but they were then very much second best when beaten 2-0 by Wolves on Wednesday and Manuel Pellegrini’s men have struggled for large parts of the season since a promising start.

Sebastian Haller began the season in promising fashion but hasn’t scored since early October and West Ham have also struggled massively at the other end of the pitch, with Roberto losing his place to David Martin after a string of poor performances, and Declan Rice struggling to hold off a string of oncoming midfielders in the centre of the park.

It’s tough to find a bet here, but one thing that unites the two teams is a dire defensive situation. Only Aston Villa and Norwich have allowed more shots on target than Arsenal, who have conceded 1.57 goals per game this season, and West Ham have conceded 2 goals per game themselves. Bookmakers are wise to the situation, with Both Teams To Score a 2/5 chance and Over 2.5 goals a 4/9 shot. Backing a range of high flying correct scores might be the way to play this encounter.

RECOMMENDED BETS (scale of 1-100 points)
BACK West Ham 3-2 Arsenal 1 pt at 20/1 with
BACK West Ham 2-2 Arsenal 1 pt at 10/1 with

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