Declan Rice returns to West Ham as Arsenal suffer fresh injury problems – predicted line-ups and how to move forward
West Ham host London rival Arsenal this weekend, with both teams looking to build on impressive wins.
He Hammers He produced a classic away performance to seal three points at Newcastle on Monday night in a much-needed boost.
The pressure was enormous Julen Lopetegui to get a result, and they left Tyneside with a 2-0 victory thanks to goals from Tomas Soucek and Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
Meanwhile, Arsenal ended their winless mini-league streak with a resounding victory over Nottingham Forest.
The Gunners then defeated Sporting Lisbon 5-1 in midweek, so their confidence will be high ahead of the short trip through the capital.
West Ham vs Arsenal: Rice's return
This will be the third time Declan Rice He has played at the London Stadium since moving to Arsenal for £105m.
Read more about the Premier League
This is because the Gunners faced the Hammers in the Carabao Cup last year away from home.
On his last visit, he scored in Arsenal's 6-0 victory and refused to celebrate as a sign of respect to his former club.
He made 245 appearances for West Ham, starting as a centre-back before developing into a versatile midfielder.
He also helped them win the Europa Conference League title, so he certainly made his mark while in east London.
The reception it received last year was mixed, so it will be interesting to see what happens this time around.
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- West Ham have lost more Premier League games overall (36) and at home (15) against Arsenal than against any other opponent in the competition.
- Arsenal have lost just one of their last 16 Premier League away games against West Ham (W10 D5), winning that same game 6-0 last season.
- West Ham have lost their last two home London derbies in the Premier League, losing 2-0 against Fulham and 3-0 against Chelsea. The last time they lost three in a row was in December 2019, while the last time they did so without scoring was in December 2008; both runs included defeat to Arsenal.
West Ham vs Arsenal: Date and how to follow
This Premier League match will take place on Saturday, November 30.
Kick-off at the London Stadium is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
The match will be broadcast on Sky Sports Main Event and Premier League.
Sky Go customers will be able to stream the action via their laptops or mobile devices. Alternatively, a NOW TV The pass can be purchased.
talkSPORT will have updates throughout the afternoon and talkSPORT.com will have regular updates on our blog dedicated to the Premier League.
To tune in to talkSPORT via the website, Click HERE to watch the live stream.
You can also listen through the talkSPORT appon DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM.
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- Since the start of 2022-23, Arsenal have lost just two of their 26 London derbies in the Premier League (18 wins and six draws). One of them was against West Ham, which was the only one of the 26 games in which they failed to score (0-2 in December 2023).
- West Ham have picked up seven points in their last three home games in the Premier League (W2 D1), as many as in their previous nine at the London Stadium (W1 D4 L4).
- Having won 10 of their first 11 Premier League away games in 2024 (D1), Arsenal are now winless in their last four away games (D2 L2). It is their longest winless streak since a run of seven between December 2019 and June 2020, the last six of which were Mikel Arteta's first in charge of the Gunners away from home.
West Ham vs Arsenal: team news and expected line-ups
Lukasz Fabianski has regained his spot as the Hammers' number one goalkeeper ahead of Alphonse Areola.
Wan-Bissaka and Emerson are the first-choice full-backs, but Lopetegui could be forced to make a change at centre-back.
Jean-Clair Todibo had to come off early in the second half against Newcastle with an unspecified problem, meaning Konstantinos Mavropanos will likely start alongside Max Kilman.
Carlos Soler impressed against Newcastle in midfield alongside Soucek, who scored again.
Mohammed Kudus remains suspended after his initial three-match ban was extended to five for punching two Tottenham players in the face in a recent defeat.
That means Crysencio Summerville is likely back on the left.
Lucas Paqueta, Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio are also ready to go.
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For Arsenal, David Raya is the undisputed number one.
William Saliba will be the right central defender, but there are doubts about Gabriel Magalhaes, who was withdrawn against Sporting.
If he can't play, expect to see Riccardo Calafiori move into the middle, with Jurrien Timber at left back and Thomas Partey at right back.
That would see Mikel Merino come into midfield to join Martin Odegaard and Rice.
Bukayo Saka will be on the right, while Leandro Trossard is likely to replace Gabriel Martinelli, who limped off in midweek.
Kai Havertz will more than likely lead the line.
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- Following their 2-0 win at Newcastle last time out, West Ham are looking to make it back-to-back wins in the Premier League for the first time since March. Meanwhile, they could keep three clean sheets in a row for the first time since a run of four in December/January last season, the third game of which was a 2-0 win over Arsenal.
- No player has scored more Premier League goals for West Ham this season than Tomás Soucek (3). 17 of his last 18 goals for the Hammers have put them a goal ahead (12) or tied them (5) in the match.
- Bukayo Saka has been involved in 21 goals in his last 25 Premier League London derby games (9 goals, 12 assists), including five in his last six against West Ham. In total, he has 28 goal involvements in these matches (13 goals, 15 assists), with only four players registering more for Arsenal (Thierry Henry 55, Dennis Bergkamp 38, Robin van Persie 33, Ian Wright 32).
- Only Mohamed Salah (16) has been involved in more Premier League goals this season than Arsenal's Bukayo Saka (12: 4 goals, 8 assists). In fact, Saka has scored and assisted in three different games this season, with only Salah doing so more (4).
West Ham vs Arsenal: What has been said?
After Arsenal claimed their first European away win in 13 months, Arteta praised his team.
He said: “I don't think they've lost here in 18 months.
“They have been in top form, they have been better than everyone who has played here. Playing at that level with the fluidity we did today is a great satisfaction.
The performance was there a few times when we played against big teams. We played against PSG and we were exceptional again. We played against Bayern and we were exceptional. But we made some mistakes and it cost us.
“That's the level. We have to be able to cope with it. You have to make it happen. That creates confidence. We need that consistency because the ability is there. It's a great performance, a great victory and we are very happy.”
West Ham vs Arsenal: talkSPORT Betting Odds
Match Odds:
West Ham 6/1
Draw – 5/18
Arsenal – 2/5
Bet Boost: Arsenal win, Saka scores and Paqueta receives a @ card 8/1 (it was 13/2)
*odds subject to change
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