Wolves vs West Ham Prediction: Fast start expected in Florida

Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Ham United make the first stops of their respective USA tours when they meet in a pre-season friendly at the Jacksonville Jaguars' EverBank Stadium in Florida on Sunday (00:00, Premier Sports 2).

Ahead of this game between two Premier League rivals, I have delivered my Wolves vs West Ham prediction, which you can check out below, and listed all the latest team news and match odds.

Football Odds

Team News

Jose Sa, Nelson Semedo, Pedro Neto and Joao Gomes were all involved in international tournaments during the summer and will only join up with the Wolves squad midway through their USA trip, so the quartet won't be involved on Sunday. Daniel Podence and Fabio Silva won't be either, with the duo left out at home - the former due to injury.

The Old Gold have already made a few signings this transfer window, bringing in Celta Vigo striker Jorgen Strand Larsen, Braga winger Rodrigo Gomes and Sport Recife full-back Pedro Lima, who will all be hoping to feature against the Hammers in Jacksonville.

Wolves will be up against a couple of familiar faces at the EverBank Stadium with recently departed captain Max Kilman and former head coach Julen Lopetegui at the East London club.

The Irons beat Dagenham & Redbridge 1-0 in their first pre-season friendly last week and will look to get more minutes in the legs of players like Mohammed Kudus, Emerson and Kurt Zouma, though Alphonse Areola, Jarrod Bowen and Lucas Paqueta are missing from the squad after being given extended leave following their international exertions.

Edson Alvarez suffered an injury during Mexico's group-stage exit at the Copa America and is undergoing rehabilitation.

Wolves vs West Ham Odds

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Wolves are 7/4 to get their second pre-season win after opening up with a 1-0 victory over Italian top-flight newbies Como. Their odds give them an implied win probability of 36.4%, while 6/5 favourites West Ham are considered a 45.5% chance.

The draw can be backed at 5/2, both teams to score at 4/9 and over 2.5 total goals at 8/15.

Over 3.5 total goals @ 5/4

There was just a single goal scored in both teams' first pre-season friendly as each kicked off the summer with a 1-0 win, but I'm expecting the sides to step things up a notch or two this weekend.

West Ham, for example, only gave half an hour or so to star man Kudus, who could play a full half on Sunday, while Wolves are still integrating several new signings, like the Irons.

In a match between two mid-table Premier League clubs, in front of an expectant American audience, there's likely to be a bit more enthusiasm to create chances and excite supporters, so that should lend itself to an entertaining encounter full of goals.

We've already seen several Premier League sides involved in high-scoring friendlies this past week including Manchester City, who lost 4-3 to Celtic in Chapel Hill on Wednesday, and Chelsea, who drew 2-2 with Wrexham in Santa Clara a day later.

There were three goals scored in both league meetings between West Ham and Wolves last season as the Irons collected six points, winning 3-0 at home before triumphing 2-1 in Wolverhampton.

In a pre-season friendly, I'm sure the sides can go one better at least on Sunday.

Over 1.5 first-half total goals @ 5/4

Kudus bagged a first-half brace in the Premier League fixture at the London Stadium last December, scoring both goals inside the first 32 minutes.

The Ghanaian could be handed his first start of pre-season on Sunday and may well be sharing a pitch with other exciting attackers including new signing Luis Guilherme and Wolves pair Matheus Cunha and Larsen.

West Ham in particular are expected to display more attacking fluency this season under the tutelage of Lopetegui, so I expect the Irons to use their pre-season friendlies to practice a more forward-thinking approach, which could see them attack Wolves from the off this weekend.

Backing a couple of early goals looks like a better play than predicting a result, which is anyone's guess in a free-hit game between two sides who finished within six points of each other in last season's Premier League.

Offers

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