West Ham United vs Arsenal Prediction: Gunners to bring Irons back down to earth

West Ham United stunned Newcastle United - and most observers - by beating the Magpies 2-0 at St James' Park on Monday night. Given the speculation surrounding Julen Lopetegui's future as Irons boss, it's probably fair to file the result under ' potential job saver'. The Spaniard's attention now turns to Saturday (17:30, Sky Sports Main Event), when the Hammers host fellow capital club Arsenal at the London Stadium.

Following a four-game winless run in the Premier League, the Gunners got back on track with a 3-0 victory over Nottingham Forest last weekend and will be desperate to claim another three points here to cut Liverpool's lead down to six points ahead of their Sunday clash with Manchester City. Below you can find my West Ham United vs Arsenal prediction, complete with all the latest team news and match odds.

Team News

Lopetegui must be tempted to stick with a winning formula after Monday night's heroic efforts on Tyneside, where Newcastle never really truly threatened a comeback.

Tomas Soucek opened the scoring at St James' and he was part of a midfield three that also included Lucas Paqueta and Carlos Soler. Given their performances, Guido Rodriguez - who appeared as a late substitute against the Magpies - and Edson Alvarez - who returns this weekend after serving a two-game ban - may have to settle for places on the bench.

Lopetegui said on Thursday that he has "two or three problems" to assess injury-wise before the weekend, while Mohammed Kudus will serve the final match of his five-game suspension on Saturday.

His head coach will also be watching on from the stands after picking up a third yellow card of the season on Monday.

Football Odds

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is sweating on the fitness of Brazilian defender Gabriel Magalhaes, who was taken off with five minutes remaining of Tuesday's 5-1 Uefa Champions League hammering of Sporting in Lisbon.

Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu both missed the midweek trip to Portugal and will miss out again this weekend.

Arteta could make a few changes to the starting XI named against Sporting with Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Jesus and Mikel Merino all hoping to regain their spots in the lineup.

West Ham United vs Arsenal Odds

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Despite beat the Gunners twice last season - once in the Carabao Cup and once in the Premier League - West Ham are 6/1 to claim all three points on Saturday, giving the hosts an implied win probability of 14.3%. Arsenal, meanwhile, won the corresponding fixture 6-0 last season and are 4/9, or a 69.2% chance, to follow up that February 11 victory with another at the London Stadium this weekend.

The draw is priced at 4/1, both teams to score at 5/6, and over 2.5 total goals at 4/6.

Bukayo Saka (7/5) heads the anytime goalscorer market and is followed by seven teammates before a West Ham player - skipper Jarrod Bowen - pops up at 18/5.

Match Result & Total Goals Over/Under 2.5 - Arsenal & Under 2.5 @ 13/5

Arsenal hit West Ham for six in their last head-to-head at the London Stadium earlier this year, while five of their last six meetings have seen at least three goals scored; however, I don't anticipate as many strikes this weekend as the Gunners get serious in their title charge.

Arteta's side hit a rough patch between the last two international breaks but returned to action last weekend with a comfortable victory over Nottingham Forest and followed that up by battering Sporting in the Champions League. Eight goals scored probably doesn't point to a side that will settle for a low-scoring win on Saturday, but Arsenal don't tend to see many goals on the travels in the Premier League, netting just six times - and conceding the same amount - in as many games on the road this season.

A 2-2 draw with reigning champions Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium in September remains Arsenal's only away match - in the league - in which there have been over 2.5 goals.

Last season's runners-up won their first two away games, beating Aston Villa 2-0 at Villa Park and north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium before drawing with Man City. The Gunners then lost 2-0 to AFC Bournemouth at Vitality Stadium and 1-0 to Newcastle at St James' Park before snapping out of that losing streak with a 1-1 draw against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Getting back on the winning trail away from home is next on the agenda for this resurgent Arsenal side. Despite West Ham going unbeaten at the London Stadium since the start of October, there are reasons to believe the Irons are in trouble this weekend.

West Ham lost their first three home games of the season in the Premier League, going down 1-2 to Aston Villa, 1-3 to Man City and 0-3 to Chelsea - all sides who finished in the top seven in 2023/24 and qualified for Europe through their league positions. All three clubs are also in the top eight this season heading into their round 13 fixtures.

Meanwhile, the three teams the Irons have avoided defeat against since the start of last month - Ipswich Town (4-1), Manchester United (2-1) and Everton (0-0) - are in the bottom eight heading into the weekend and all finished outside the top seven last season - with the Tractor Boys not even in the same league.

Arsenal should pose a much tougher test than their last three visitors, especially with the Gunners having won three of their four Premier League games against bottom-half teams this season - only failing to beat Bournemouth after William Saliba's first-half dismissal.

There have been under 2.5 total goals in seven of Arsenal's last nine Premier League away games and so I'm more than happy to take on an away win and under 2.5 total goals at 13/5 at the London Stadium.

Anytime Goalscorer - Declan Rice (ARS) @ 9/2

Declan Rice suffered the disappointment of a defeat on his first return to the London Stadium last season as Arsenal lost 3-1 in the Carabao Cup, with the former West Ham skipper appearing as a second-half substitute but failing to help turn things around for the Gunners.

Undeterred, he and his teammates got their revenge in the Premier League in February as Arteta's side ran out 6-0 winners in east London, and Rice was in the think of the action, laying on first-half goals for centre-backs Saliba and Gabriel before getting on the scoresheet himself in the 65th minute.

That strike was one of seven in the Premier League for Rice in his maiden campaign with the Gunners, but he's yet to find the net in the competition this term despite playing 10 times.

The 25-year-old did score against Bolton Wanderers in the Carabao Cup, though, and was on target for England in their Uefa Nations League victory over Republic of Ireland (0-2) in Dublin on September 7. He received loud jeers in the Irish capital after changing international allegiances earlier in his career, and he can expect to come in for some more boos on Saturday in front of his former supporters.

However, like against Ireland, Rice can prove that the dissenters don't bother him, and I think it's a perfect time for him to get off the mark in the Premier League this season.

Offers

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