West Ham United fans are not in a position were they’ll be going into games thinking that they can get all three points, despite the fact that the Hammers did beat Chelsea just over a week ago at Stamford Bridge. Since that win, they’ve lost again, and now they face Arsenal.
That game, later today on Monday Night Football, will see the Gunners return to the London Stadium for just the 4th time, and with the previous three games between these sides at this ground seeing the Irons win, lose and draw (11vs11), anything can happen here.
Manuel Pellegrini is under immense pressure in Stratford at the moment and whilst he’ll be desperate to keep his job, beating Arsenal will be no easy task, even in the Gunners current state having not won a single game in their last nine in all competitions.
It really is a good time to be playing Arsenal, though, as Freddie Ljungberg, the stand-in coach, will be desperately trying to leave his mark on this group of players and mistakes will be made early in the stages of his reign as he tries to do just that.
When the whistle is blown at 8pm this evening, anything can happen and the unpredictability of football means that we could be talking about a 3-0 win or a 3-0 loss this time tomorrow, however, we’re going to give it a go at predicting how this one will finish.
Arsenal...
Win
Draw
Lose (again)
Pellegrini’s side have got to come out and show what they’re about. They cannot afford to give up the physical edge that they’re bound to have against the Gunners, and if they come out firing with Sebastien Haller, Michail Antonio, Andriy Yarmolenko, Declan Rice and the defence at their dogged best, they should win this.
It will obviously be line-up depending, but as long as Manuel Pellegrini springs no major surprises, we’re expecting to see the Hammers get their second win in three games, and we think it will be by a narrow 2-1 margin as the two struggling sides meet.
