In the Premier League match that will take place on Saturday evening at the London Stadium, West Ham United will play host to Wolverhampton Wanderers, another team that is currently in the relegation zone.
The team managed by David Moyes is now positioned in the zone for automatic relegation, while their opponents are just one place and two points better off overall.
Our Match Preview: West Ham United vs Wolverhampton Wanderers
West Ham won back-to-back Europa League games, but they lost to Everton before the international break. Neal Maupay scored the lone goal in Everton’s 1-0 win against West Ham, and the following five games may make or break David Moyes’ job.
With just one victory and three goals from their first seven Premier League games, West Ham is 18th in the standings and in need of an offensive spark.
West Ham has only lost two of their past seven games in all competitions, but football isn’t played on paper.
The Hammers haven’t won at the London Stadium in the Premier League since 2003. West Ham will likely need to score a first-half goal to do so, given Wolves’ second-half offense has been nonexistent.
Bruno Lage’s team didn’t score against Manchester City, who won 3-0 at Molineux on September 17 due to Phil Foden, Erling Braut Haaland, and Jack Grealish.
Nathan Collins’ red card in the 33rd minute ended Wolves’ four-game undefeated record in all competitions amid concerns about their attack. Wolves have scored only three goals in the league this season, none in the second half.
They head to the London Stadium still looking for their first away victory of the season. Wolves have the joint-best defensive record on the road, having surrendered just three goals in seven away games, but they haven’t won since beating Everton in March.
Tomas Soucek’s goal gave West Ham a 1-0 victory over Wolves in this match last season, their third in four league meetings against Lage’s side. Moyes is fighting for three points and his job on Saturday.
Our Team News: West Ham United vs Wolverhampton Wanderers
The ankle ailment that has sidelined West Ham center defender Nayef Aguerd is not likely to allow him to return to duty for another couple of weeks.
On the other hand, Ben Johnson’s thigh condition may improve in time for the visit from Wolves.
The home team did not pick up any new issues during the international break, and Moyes is gifted with alternatives for change in the final third as he looks to stop his team’s record of wastefulness in front of goal.
Gianluca Scamacca ought to come into contention for only his second start in the Premier League over Michail Antonio, while Maxwel Cornet may feel positive about taking the place of Pablo Fornals out wide.
Both players have only played a combined total of two games in the Premier League. As for the away team, Diego Costa was not deemed ready to make his second Premier League debut on September 17 after his arrival as a free agent.
But the former Chelsea player will push for a start after taking part in full training earlier this month. This comes after Costa was not deemed ready to make his first Premier League debut on September 17 after his arrival as a free agent.
After receiving a red card in the match versus City, Collins will serve a three-game suspension, which will provide room for either Yerson Mosquera or Toti to play with Max Kilman. Chiquinho and Sasa Kalajdzic will continue to be out for an extended period.
Raul Jimenez’s groin injury is reportedly causing him difficulties walking, and he is not any closer to returning to Lage’s team, according to a recent update that came from Mexico. This is a very concerning development.
- West Ham United possible starting lineup: Fabianski, Coufal, Kehrer, Zouma, Cresswell, Rice, Soucek, Bowen, Paqueta, Cornet, Scamacca.
- Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup: Sa; Jonny, Toti, Kilman, Ait-Nouri; Neves, Nunes, Moutinho; Neto, Costa, Podence.
Our Prediction: West Ham United 1-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers
The breakup of the Collins-Kilman tandem should provide West Ham with an opening, and the fact that Diego Costa is still working his way toward full match fitness does not indicate that Wolves have found the solution to their problems in the attacking third.
Even if fireworks may not fly between two teams that saw the international break arrive at an excellent moment, West Ham can use their European goalscoring enthusiasm to pick up a long-awaited home victory.
Moyes will be tempted to play with his multitude of alternatives in the final third.