West Ham United will host Wolves at the London Stadium on Monday night, looking to bounce back to winning ways.
West Ham United are 14th in the Premier League table, and they have picked up just two wins from the last six league games ahead of the visit of Wolves. They will be desperate to get their season back on track with the win here.
On the other hand, Wolves are 19th in the league table and they have lost their last two league games as well. The visitors showed impressive form throughout November and they will be desperate to bounce back strongly. Wolves are unbeaten in four of their last six league games and it will be interesting to see if they can get a good result here.
Team News and Tactics
West Ham United
West Ham United will be without Michail Antonio, who has been in a car accident. The Hammers will shape up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Alphonse Areola in goal.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Emerson Palmieri will start as the full-backs. They will look to contribute at both ends of the pitch. Max Kilman will start in central defence alongside Jean-Clair Todibo.
Guido Rodriguez will start alongside Carlos Soler in the midfield pivot. They will look to add defensive cover and creativity to the side from the deep.
Lucas Paqueta will start as the attacking midfielder here and he will look to carve out opportunities for his teammates and link up with the attackers. Jarrod Bowen and Crysencio Summerville will add creativity and goals from the flanks.
Mohammed Kudus will lead the line for West Ham United.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Areola; Wan-Bissaka, Kilman, Todibo, Emerson; Rodriguez, Soler; Bowen, Paqueta, Summerville; Kudus
Wolves
Wolves will be without Yerson Mosquera, Boubacar Traore, Enso Medina, and Sasa Kalajdzic due to knee injuries. They are likely to shape up in a 4-4-1-1 formation, with Sam Johnstone in goal.
Matt Doherty and Toti Gomes will start as the full-backs. They will look to keep things tight at the back and hit West Ham on the counter. Santiago Bueno and Craig Dawson will start in central defence.
Jean-Ricner Bellegarde and Rayan Ait-Nouri will start as the wingers here, and they will look to add pace and flair to the side. In central midfield, Joao Gomes will start alongside Mario Lemina and they will look to add defensive cover, composure and control to the side.
Matheus Cunha will start as the attacking midfielder and he will look to link the midfield with the attack. He will also look to get on the scoresheet here.
Jorgen Strand Larsen will lead the line for Wolves.
Probable Lineup (4-4-1-1): Johnstone; Doherty, Bueno, Dawson, Toti Gomes; Bellegarde, Joao Gomes, Lemina, Ait Nouri; Cunha; Larsen
Key Stats
Player to Watch
Jarrod Bowen
The 27-year-old West Ham United attacker is our key player to watch out for. He has 3 goals and 3 assists in the league this season and he will look to create goal-scoring opportunities for his teammates and add to his goal-scoring tally for the season. West Ham have looked toothless in the attack at times and they need the England international to step up and produce a strong performance here.
Prediction
West Ham 2-1 Wolves
Both teams will be desperate for a victory here and this should be a close contest. Neither side will want to end up with a defeat and they will be desperate for all three points. This is likely to be an open game with a fair few chances for either side and both teams are likely to get on the scoresheet here.
However, Wolves have been quite poor defensively and their defensive unit could let them down here. West Ham have quality attackers like Bowen and Mohammed Kudus at their disposal and they should be able to grind out a narrow victory.