London derby for Premier League opener! After the long World Cup break, the English Premier League continues with league action. This coming Monday evening, league leaders Arsenal London welcome city rivals West Ham United for a big clash. For the Gunners, it is a matter of living up to their role as favourites and defending their lead of 5 points over pursuers Manchester City. The Hammers, on the other hand, have a lot to make up for in 16th place, which is why the game against the league leaders comes at the best time.
FC Arsenal London vs. West Ham United: The starting position
- Form Arsenal: 4 wins and 1 defeat from the last 5 games
West Ham form: 1 win and 4 defeats from the last 5 PL games
Favourites: According to bookmakers, Arsenal are the clear favourites
The local derby always promises a lot of excitement in the run-up, but the roles are considered to be clearly distributed. The league leaders have played a breathtaking season so far, while the visitors have fallen well short of their expectations. In addition, the Gunners have 1.5 times the squad value, which again emphasises the difference in quality. Furthermore, a record of 5 wins and a draw from the last 6 encounters clearly speaks in favour of the Arteta eleven. For this reason, the bookmakers have no doubts that Arsenal FC will continue their run and win the match.
Arsenal FC – Living up to the role of favourites
Mikel Arteta’s team is considered one of the surprise teams of all time. While many had expected a duel between Liverpool and Manchester City, the Gunners are now 5 points clear at the top of the table. The Sky Blues come in 5 points behind, while Liverpool are out of reach with 15 points. With 12 wins, one draw and only one defeat, the Londoners’ first-round record could not have been better.
The long-awaited Premier League title is considered within reach, which is why Arteta’s eleven must show the same consistency in the second half of the season. As a result, Martin Ødegaard and Co. will be looking to put in their best performance in order to make an early decision in the city duel. However, the Gunners will have to do without top scorer Gabriel Jesus. He suffered a serious knee injury at the Qatar World Cup and will be out for a long time.
West Ham United – Turning the corner against the league leaders
For last year’s 7th-placed team, the current first half of the season could hardly have been worse, which is why the Hammers now find themselves in the relegation battle. The international starting positions were once again the goal. After the Irons lost the last 3 Premier League games against Manchester United (1:0), Crystal Palace (1:2) and Leicester City (0:2), David Moyes’ team is now only 16th in the table. The direct relegation place is not far away with one point, which is why the pressure on the side of the visitors increases immensely.
The role against the city rivals is considered clear, because the Eisernen will not have many game shares. In the course of this, it is important to defend compactly defensively and to score goals up front. A win against the league leaders could unleash the necessary forces to finally leave the relegation battle behind.
Betting tip & prediction: Arsenal FC – West Ham United (26.12.2022)
Our expert tip for Arsenal FC vs. West Ham United is a win for the Arteta team. The Gunners are considered to be in top form, while the Hammers are under a lot of pressure. Consequently, we assume that the bookmakers are right and bet on Arsenal FC to win the match. For this we get odds of 1/2 at Bet365.
Betting Tip: “Gunners continue series against Hammers – negative trend of the Moyes eleven continues”.
In the Premier League opener, we expect the home side to come out as the match-winning side. Nevertheless, we expect the Hammers to create some counter-attacking chances. Consequently, we bet on both teams to score with odds of 10/11 on yes. Furthermore, we assume that at least 3 goals will be scored. In the course of this, we bet at Bet365 with odds of 8/11 on over 2.5 goals.