West Ham United vs Arsenal Last Minute Preview

After an unexpected poor run of form, in which we snatched a last gasp equalizer against Leeds in the FA Cup and lost in a shambolic fashion to Ipswich Town in the first leg of the League Cup, we return to the "comfort" of the Premier League.

Team news:

West Ham United(4-5-1): Green, Faubert, Tomkins, Upson, Bridge, Spector, Kovac, Noble, Sears, Cole, Hines

Substitutes: Boffin, Reid, Gabbidon, Barrera, Boa Morte, McCarthy, Nouble

Manager: Avram Grant

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Formation view:

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                                             Green

Faubert             Tomkins                       Upson                 Bridge

       Spector                          Kovac                    Noble

Sears                                  Cole                                   Hines

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Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Szczesny, Eboue, Djourou, Koscielny, Clichy, Song, Wilshere, Walcott, Fabregas, Nasri, van Persie

Substitutes: Shea, Vela, Denilson, Arshavin, Gibbs, Chamakh, Bendtner

Manager: Arsene Wenger

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Formation view:

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                                                       Szczesny

Eboue                       Djourou                                      Koscielny                  Clichy

                                         Song                      Wilshere

Walcott                                           Fabregas                                        Nasri

                                                      van Persie

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Tactics:

Goalkeeping/Defence: We're without Fabiansky and Sagna for this match. Hope Eboue puts in a good performance tonight. West Ham will surely look to follow in the footsteps of Ipswich and we will really need to defend well from set pieces and long balls.

Midfield: With our preferred midfield starting tonight, we should be up for a much improved performance as compared to our recent cup games. We distinctly looked out of sorts and short of ideas in those matches and we need to bounce back with a strong performance. Hassling the Hammers midfield, sharp passing, darting runs into the box and challenging for 50-50s and playing at a high tempo will be absolutely crucial tonight.

Attack: Hope Nasri and van Persie have had their well deserved rest and come out firing all cylinders. We need to utilize Theo's pace more often today.

Subs: I'd bring on Vela, Arshavin/Chamakh and Denilson.

Final Prediction:

A scrappy 0-1 for Arsenal.