EPL Preview: Arsenal Have Point to Prove Against West Ham

This weekend at Upton Park, Arsenal faces probably its toughest opposition to this point in the season in West Ham United.  The last time the Gunners won there was in 2000.

Last season, though troubled by relegation fears, Alan Curbishley's men heaped a rare—in fact the only—home defeat on the Gunners at Emirates, as Bobby Zamora scored the loan goal.

Since then, both teams have improved by leaps.  Arsenal are the present league toppers, while West Ham too have started strongly.  Against the young Gunners side, not many teams have taken the initiative to attack.  However, this Saturday nothing should stop the Hammers from seizing the initiative. 

West Ham have a strong squad.  Craig Bellamy is back from a long hamstring injury, and Dean Ashton is making his return as well. Fredrik Ljungberg has also joined the side after leaving Arsenal.

For the Gunners, Alexandre Song suffered a calf strain, and Eduardo da Silva a groin injury.  Fortunately, however, Alexander Hleb has been declared fit for the match.  Hence.

Expect a fast-paced and exciting game.

Key men for the Gunners

Cesc Fabregas

The influential Spaniard will again be pulling the strings in midfield.  Ably supporting him will be Mathieu Flamini. 

In the previous encounter between these two sides, Cesc was closely marked by Nigel Reo Coker.  However, the Hammers will be without his services this time.

Emmanuel Adebayor

The league's joint top scorer, along with Fabregas. The Togan striker has finally hit top form and is a handful for any defence. 

He will surely be missed during January and February.

Key men for the Hammers

Dean Ashton

Injured for the whole of previous season, Ashton has played in three games this year and has scored thrice.  He will be a handful.

Matthew Upson

Upson has made nine tackles so far, and 60 percent of his passes are accurate.  He's a good strong defender who will be in the thick of the action tomorrow.

Prediction

This will be a hard-fought match, as both teams would like to get all three points.  But given how Arsenal is playing at the moment, they should come out as winners.

It'll be a 2-1 score with Adebayor and Robin Persie scoring for the Gunners, Ashton for the Hammers.

So here's to an exciting weekend. Cheers!