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West Ham v Arsenal preview & betting tips

By on December 12, 2017

jack wilshere arsenal 2015

Spread: Arsenal -1

Moneyline: West Ham +425, Arsenal -170, Draw +320

Total: 3 goals

Different books offer bettors all sorts of different types of soccer betting. Some may offer expansive odds such as first half lines or which player will score first, while others may be more basic and simply offer moneyline or spread bets. Last weekend, most books listed Arsenal as slight favorites to beat Southampton, but the Saints were able to hold the Gunners to a gutsy 1-1 draw.

Arsenal are still in a fine position in the league, however, as they currently sit fifth just a point back of fourth-place Liverpool, who were also held to a 1-1 draw over the weekend. The Gunners will have the chance to leapfrog the Reds when they take on West Ham on Wednesday in an away fixture.

It’s been a dreary season to this point for the Hammers, who recently fired head coach Slaven Bilic and replaced him with David Moyes. Moyes got his first major result at his new gig over the weekend when his side picked up a shocking 1-0 win over defending league champions Chelsea.

Wednesday’s match against Arsenal will give the Hammers the chance to pick up back-to-back surprise wins over London rivals. This fixture didn’t go well for Bilic’s side last season, as Arsenal picked up a 5-1 victory at the London Stadium on the shoulders of a hat trick from Alexis Sanchez.

Moyes has not enjoyed much success against Wenger in the past. Moyes’ clubs have lost 17 of the 28 head-to-head meetings with the Arsenal boss, which is the most defeats Moyes has endured against any single coach during his up-and-down managerial career.

We can safely expect the Hammers to put forth a similar side to the one that knocked off Chelsea over the weekend. One would imagine Moyes will want to retain the defense that scored a clean sheet over the Blues, which likely means Adrian will keep his spot in goal over the benched Joe Hart.

Moyes is also dealing with injuries to the likes of Jose Fonte, Cheikhou Kouyate and Sam Byram, though both James Collins and Winston Reid could be fit to play after missing time with knocks of their own.

As for Arsenal, the Gunners have a couple of injury situations to monitor heading into the West Ham clash as both Aaron Ramsey and Shkodran Mustafi are set to miss out. Ramsey continues to battle hamstring problems, while Mustafi has a thigh injury. In Ramsey’s absence, there’s an outside chance that Jack Wilshere could make his first Premier League start for the club since May of 2016.

Wenger’s men should be up for this one after being held in a disappointing effort by Southampton. West Ham’s confidence should be high, however, and this is a side that has not played up to its talent level all season long. We got a glimpse of their potential against Chelsea, and this is a dangerous game for the Gunners to overlook. Taking the Hammers lightly could end embarrassingly for Arsenal.

There’s decent value in Arsenal here to win at -170, but the draw brings massive profit potential at +320. If you believe that Moyes has turned West Ham’s season around, a draw is a very reasonable result to expect here.