Arsenal vs. West Ham United: Team News, Predicted Line-Ups, Stream & TV Info
It's remarkable to think that prior to the first Premier League fixture of the season between these two teams on December 28, West Ham were a point ahead of Arsenal and ranked fifth in the Premier League.
Since then, the two sides have undergone a dramatic change in fortunes. Arsenal are now nestled in third and favourites for Champions League qualification, whereas the Hammers are clinging on to a place in the top half of the table.
As Arsenal fight to secure their passage in to Europe, West Ham are simply battling to recover some semblance of form and save their season from a disappointing denouement.
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Date: Saturday, March 14
Time: 3 p.m. GMT/11 a.m. ET
Venue: Emirates Stadium, London
TV Info: NBCSN (U.S.)
Live Stream: NBC Sports Live Extra (U.S.)
Form Guide (last five results of both teams)
Arsenal:
- W (1-2) vs. Manchester United
- W (1-2) vs. QPR
- W (2-0) vs. Everton
- L (1-3) vs. Monaco
- W (1-2) vs. Crystal Palace
- L (0-1) vs. Chelsea
- L (1-3) vs. Crystal Palace
- D (2-2) vs. Tottenham
- L (4-0) vs. West Brom
- D (0-0) vs. Southampton
Since Christmas, West Ham have won just one of their 11 Premier League games.
The Emirates Stadium does not seem a likely place for the rot to stop. Arsenal have won seven consecutive home league games, and Sam Allardyce has yet to win away to the Gunners in the course of his managerial career.
Team News
According to the BBC, Arsenal will be without Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who picked up a hamstring injury during the FA Cup win over Manchester United. Mathieu Flamini is back in the squad, but Jack Wilshere is still out after undergoing minor surgery. With a big game against Monaco on the horizon, Arsene Wenger may look to rotate the likes of Santi Cazorla to prevent fatigue creeping in.
For the Hammers, Enner Valencia is out after cutting his foot on a teacup. Allardyce may be facing something of a defensive crisis: Carl Jenkinson is unavailable to face his parent club, while Winston Reid and James Tomkins are also both out.
Predicted Arsenal XI: David Ospina; Hector Bellerin, Per Mertesacker, Laurent Koscielny, Kieran Gibbs; Aaron Ramsey, Francis Coquelin; Danny Welbeck, Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez; Olivier Giroud
Predicted West Ham XI: Adrian; Guy Demel, Cheikhou Kouyate, James Collins, Aaron Cresswell; Alex Song, Mark Noble, Kevin Nolan, Stewart Downing; Diafra Sakho, Nene
Players to Watch
Arsenal: David Ospina
Ospina is likely to reclaim his place from Wojciech Szczesny, who played the cup tie at Old Trafford.
The Colombian has an excellent record since coming in to the side earlier this year, but is unlikely to have faced many teams with the physical presence and aerial threat of West Ham. This will be a major test of his Premier League credentials.
West Ham: Stewart Downing
The former England international has been a revelation this season. Playing in a central role, he has flourished and fulfilled the potential that saw him once heralded as one of British football's brightest talents.
At the Emirates Stadium, Downing's creativity and set-piece delivery will be critical to West Ham's chances of causing an unlikely upset.
James McNicholas is Bleacher Report's lead Arsenal correspondent and is following the club from a London base throughout the 2014-15 season. Follow him on Twitter here.
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