Date: Thursday, December 26 Venue: Upton Park Kick-Off: 15:00 West Ham will be up against it as they look to maintain a good run at home, while anything less than a win for Arsenal will be viewed as a failure.
Team News
Kevin Nolan returns for the Hammers after his completing a three-match ban and James Tomkins will continue to feature despite the negative news surrounding the defender. Arsenal are without Jack Wilshere as he serves the final match of his two-game suspension but Laurent Koscielny could return after he missed Monday night's class with Chelsea due to a cut sustained at the Etihad two games ago.
Key Stats
West Ham have won just one game out of the last ten but they are unbeaten in two league games at Upton Park, keeping clean sheets in both games. The Hammers have failed to score in nine of their 17 games in the league and they've lost the last six games against the Gunners. Arsenal host the joint-top record for points picked up away from home with 16 on their travels and this match will be their 100th London derby away from home in the Premier League era. Theo Walcott has scored in his last three appearances against West Ham, while Olivier Giroud has three in two games and Santi Cazorla has two in two.
Likely Line-Ups
West Ham United Jaaskelainen, McCartney, Collins, Tomkins, Demel, Noble, Diame, Jarvis, Nolan, Morrison, Maiga Arsenal Szczesny, Gibbs, Mertesaker, Koscielny, Sagna, Ramsey, Flamini, Podolski, Ozil, Cazorla, Giroud
Match Preview
West Ham are situated at the wrong end of the table and are currently just a single point above the relegation zone. They've had a tricky run in December having lost against Manchester United, Tottenham and Liverpool. The Hammers are yet to pick up a win this month, with their last coming on 30 November against Fulham. Ravel Morrison is living up to his reputation and he's becoming a key player for his side. Andy Carroll is needed as soon as possible but for now they have to rely on Maiga and Carlton Cole, who scored last time out against United. Arsenal were frustrated on Monday night against Chelsea, a game where they only mustered one shot on target. Though a draw against Chelsea isn't a bad result, it comes on the back of a draw with Everton and a crushing loss to Manchester City. Their last victory came at the beginning of the month and they've scored 4 goals since, 3 of which came at the Etihad. They currently sit second in the table but a victory, or even a draw, would lift them to top-spot as Liverpool face Manchester City in the late kick-off. Prediction 1-3
Josh has had work featured in the Evening Gazette and on Newcastle United website. He is a Multimedia Journalism student at Teesside University and runs a successful sports blog. He also enjoys films, comics and TV, writing about anything he can. Josh has recently started writing his first of what he hopes will be many books.
