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West Ham and Arsenal will square off in an early Saturday Premier League clash, with both teams in desperate need of points if they are to reach their objective.
West Ham had a marvelous season so far and the hosts are just 3 points behind Manchester City for the 4th place. They clearly surpassed expectations this season, but now, since they got so far, they will obviously make a push for that last Champions League spot. Unfortunately for the Hammers, they lost important points in the last 2 rounds. Drawing at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea was a good result, but another draw at home with Crystal Palace last round was not good at all.
These last few months were not good for Arsenal, who often struggled to find the net and as a result lost pretty much everything. Champions League and FA Cup are gone, but they still have a chance in the Premier League, though it’s clearly a (very) long shot now. They are 11 points behind Leicester, but have a game in hand. On the bright side, Arsenal finally started to play well recently, putting on two very impressive performances in the last two rounds – 2-0 at Everton and 4-0 against Watford. They also have a fantastic schedule after this match.
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Team news & lineups:
Collins and Byram are the only absentees for Slaven Bilic’s side, while Arsenal continues to miss Wilshere, Cazorla, Arteta, Flamini, Ramsey and Rosicky and Oxlade-Chamberlain. On the bright side, Petr Cech will be back in the starting lineup.
West Ham United: Adrian – Tomkins, Reid, Ogbonna, Cresswell – Kouyate, Noble – Antonio, Payet, Lanzini – Sakho
Arsenal: Cech – Bellerin, Koscielny, Gabriel, Monreal – Coquelin, Elneny – Iwobi, Ozil, Sanchez – Welbeck
This match will decide if Arsenal will have a chance to fight until the end or not. The Gunners have 4 very accessible matches coming up (Palace, WBA, Sunderland, Norwich), from which they could very well take 12 points – especially as 3 of them will be at home. If they win here and don`t blow it in the next 4 matches, they will give themselves a chance and it will come down to Leicester’s results. If the Foxes fail to win 2 of their next 4 games, Arsenal will find themselves with a shot in the final couple of rounds. But Arsenal must win today, there is no other option.
This is usually the time when Arsenal goes on a run and their last two performances support that theory. I believe the Gunners will pull it off, but it definitely won’t be easy against a motivated West Ham side. The Hammers are fighting for Champions League and are a really solid team under Slaven Bilic, so logic and common sense clearly suggest a very close game.
My tip is Arsenal to win with 1 goal (draw on the -1 european handicap market). It happened the last time Arsenal visited Boleyn Ground (2-1) and there’s an honest chance for such a result to happen again. Prediction: West Ham United – Arsenal 1-2.
Pick: Draw – Arsenal -1 EH
Odds: 3.45 @ Unibet
Stake: 5
Possible profit: 12.25
Event date: 9 April
