West Ham vs Arsenal Prediction, Odds and Betting Tips: Best bets for Saturday's London derby

Saturday evening’s Premier League fix features a London derby between West Ham and Arsenal. Matthew O’Regan has bets at 4/5 and 9/10 on the game.

Buoyed by their surprise 0-2 win at Newcastle, the Hammers now sit 14th, six points clear of relegation. Arsenal come into this game off the back of a 1-5 thrashing of Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon in midweek.  

Under-pressure manager Julien Lopetegui would’ve been relieved with his side’s performance and the result at St James Park, with the hosts barely troubling Lukasz Fabianski in the Hammers net. It was the second consecutive clean sheet for West Ham after a drab 0-0 draw against Everton before the international break.  

After a mini wobble, Arsenal look to be building momentum again after drawing 2-2 at Chelsea before beating Nottingham Forest and Sporting Lisbon 3-0 and 1-5. Due to Liverpool’s relentless run of form, Mikael Arteta will be desperate for a positive result at the London Stadium. The Gunners currently sit in fourth, nine points off the Reds.  

Only table-toppers Liverpool have a better defensive record than Arsenal, with Arteta’s side conceding just 12 goals in the league. This fixture last year saw the visitors run out 0-6 winners in a dominant display. 

On the injury front, Niclas Füllkrug remains out with an Achilles Tendon injury, while Mohammed Kudus is still suspended. Arsenal will be without full-backs Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu. 

West Ham are priced as heavy 13/2 underdogs despite being at home, so will need a performance akin to the one at Newcastle to leave the London Stadium with any points. While Tomas Soucek and Aaron Wan Bissaka were the unlikely heroes on Monday night, Jarrod Bowen inspired the Hammers with a captain’s performance.  

The 27-year-old excels in transition, helping his side defend deep and spring a counterattack with his blistering pace. Bowen made two tackles and won two fouls, showcasing his hard work off the ball.  

As ever, he was a bright spark going forward. The Irons skipper had four shots, with two of these coming on target. This meant he recorded a shot on target for the 11th time in 14 matches. He has also had a shot on target in his last five home games, so he is priced generously to record another.

Mikael Arteta has often been lambasted for his pragmatic style of play away from home, with the Spaniard preferring to keep it tight and look for goals from set pieces or on the counterattack. However, against a West Ham side averaging just 45.70% possession per game, the onus will be on the visitors to dominate the ball from the off. 

The shackles looked to be off against Sporting Lisbon, with Arsenal accumulating 3.89 xG and scoring five goals in a dominant performance. With a busy December incoming with games in the Premier League, Champions League and EFL Cup, it would not be a surprise to see the Gunners kill the game early and ring the changes to rest players for midweek’s clash against Manchester United. This could present an opportunity for West Ham to attack Arsenal late.  

The hosts are averaging 12.41 shots per league game, having at least nine shots in all, bar the disappointing 3-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest. Their home opponents are averaging 5.86 goal kicks per game, having at least five in every game thus far.  

Arsenal concede an average of 16.33 shots per away game, conceding at least nine in all six. They have also taken an average of 6.66 goal kicks, only having less than five in the 1-0 defeat to Newcastle, in which the hosts rushed into a 12th-minute lead.

West Ham vs Arsenal Lineups

The starting lineups for West Ham vs Arsenal will be displayed in the graphic below once the team news has been announced.