Arsenal
Arsenal returns to the field in the Premier League this Thursday, when they host West Ham at the Emirates Stadium, to defend their lead in the competition.
In this traditional period of games, between Christmas and New Year, Arsenal managed to remain in the lead, but opened the round with just one point ahead of Liverpool and Aston Villa.
Therefore, to finish this round still ahead, they will need to beat West Ham this Thursday.
The Gunners, who last took to the field, ended up getting a great draw away from home against Liverpool, which was essential to stay in that position.
Final score 1-1, in a game where Gabriel Magalhães opened the scoring for Arsenal after just 4 minutes, but Liverpool equalized in the first half, through Mohamed Salah.
It was a game where Arsenal had a great defensive performance, although both teams had 13 shots, they only allowed 3 Liverpool shots into their goal.
But what happened last season served as a lesson, and the team cannot lose points against teams that are not at the top if they want to win the title.
Against West Ham, we should see the Arsenal team being absolutely aggressive, especially when playing at home.
As home team, the team remains undefeated. They have 7 wins and 2 draws, 22 goals scored and only 8 conceded.
They arrive for this match with a sequence of 7 consecutive victories at home, between Premier League and Champions League matches.
In fact, in the Champions League they showed all their power, when in the last round they defeated Lens, from France, by the score of 6-0.
The team advanced in first place with 13 points, recording 4 wins, one draw and one defeat.
West Ham
West Ham, in turn, is currently in sixth place in the Premier League, with 30 points, dreaming of a place in European leagues next season.
To qualify for the Champions League, they need to close the gap of 6 points to Tottenham, currently in fourth place.
But remember that Manchester City has one game less, as they were involved in the FIFA Club World Cup.
West Ham has a campaign of 9 wins, 3 draws and 6 losses, with 31 goals scored and 30 conceded.
Although they have been achieving good results, their weak defensive capacity will be a point that needs to be corrected until the end of the competition.
In the last matches, they achieved important victories, beating Wolverhampton at home 3-0, and also at home against Manchester United 2-0.
Away from home they have won 4 and lost 4, as well as a draw, and have conceded 20 of the 30 goals they have in the competition.
Conclusion:
It is likely that Arsenal will be the ones to take the action in this clash, looking for a more aggressive proposal in attack and due to West Ham’s defensive capacity, the tendency is for the Gunners to score goals.
Their odds are low, the handicap line still seems like a good betting option, but also the goal line, due to the instability of the visiting team.