Arsenal v West Ham United
Football : England : Premier League
Saturday, 20th Match 2010 - Kickoff 5:30pm

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Arsenal

Arsenal now know that they have to go through Barcelona in the Champions League as their quest for a trophy continues. However, they will need to focus on the immediate future and a chance to move to the top of the Premier League with 7 games left after this match. With both Chelsea and Manchester United playing on Sunday, it is imperative that Arsenal keep the pressure up on those sides.

At the moment, Arsene Wenger's side are 3rd in the Premier League, but it is one of the tightest races in a number of years and only 2 points separate the top 3 at the moment. Chelsea have a game in hand over both Arsenal and United so the latter 2 sides cannot afford to drop too many points.

Arsenal are 12-1-2 at home this season with only the top 2 sides walking out with 3 points in the bag. They have scored 41 goals in their 15 games at the Emirates and conceded 15 and only Chelsea and United have scored more at home this season.

A late winner at Hull last weekend extended Arsenal's winning run to 5 in all competitions, and also meant they have won 5 straight Premier League games since losing the game at Stamford Bridge. They have won 4 in a row at the Emirates Stadium, and only conceded 1 goal in those games.

Arsenal have been given a huge boost with the return of Cesc Fabregas from injury and Alex Song from suspension. Tomas Rosicky is also back in the squad. William Gallas remains an absentee and is likely to miss the next 2 matches before being available for the first leg against Barcelona.

West Ham United

The sides currently occupying the relegation zone seem to be in real danger of being cut off from the rest of the Premier League, but West Ham United are still in the thick of trouble. The key decision for Gianfranco Zola will be the side he puts out considering they have a huge game with Wolves on Tuesday night, a potential 6 pointer.

West Ham are 16th in the Premier League, 3 points better off than Burnley and Hull City in the relegation places. Portsmouth are all but relegated, meaning there are only 2 more places to occupy. They have a 1-5-9 record away from Upton Park and have scored 13 goals but conceded 27 on their travels. Only Burnley and Hull have won less games away from home this season, so West Ham will have to focus on survival from results at home.

The Hammers won back to back games at Upton Park to move them away from trouble, but 3 straight defeats have left them once more in a precarious position. West Ham have lost 3 in a row away from home, and were recently comfortably beaten by both Manchester United and Chelsea. Both defeats came by 3 goals.

Herita Ilunga and Mark Noble are both back in training and could be back in the squad for this game. Benni McCarthy and Guillermo Franco are both fit again to be involved.

Head to Head

Arsenal are unbeaten in their last 6 games at home and away against West Ham, but have a surprisingly poor record against them at the Emirates in recent seasons.

The sides have met 4 times in the Emirates Stadium, and Arsenal have only won 1 of those games while West Ham have won 2. The Hammers have not won on their last 2 trips to North London.

The corresponding fixture ended 0-0 last season.

Prediction

Arsenal have been in fine form in recent weeks and the return of Fabregas is essential to their successes this season. I believe the Spanish midfielder may have been a shoo-in for PFA Player of the Season if it wasn't for Wayne Rooney's headline grabbing performances at Manchester United in recent weeks.

Nikolas Bendtner is also in good form and I can see him grabbing another goal here.

West Ham may have half an eye on the game against Wolves on Tuesday evening and they have been disappointing in their last 2 away games, both against sides in the top 3 of the League.

I feel Arsenal are still on a roll and an early goal here may lead to the floodgates opening. With Nicolas Bendtner up front, they have another dimension to their game after playing much of the season with the short Arshavin leading the line.

Fabregas is an essential part of this team, and he can really produce the piece of magic that can unlock the best of defences. I'll go with Arsenal on the handicap.

The Statistics :

The Pick :

Arsenal 3-0 West Ham United

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

Take Arsenal to WIN (Looks a good price to put in accumulators)

HANDICAP BETTING :

Consider Arsenal -2 Asian Handicap