Three points will be like gold dust when West Ham United and Wolverhampton Wanderers face off at the London Stadium on Friday.
The 2025/26 Premier League season resumes after a gap of three weeks, and we are at full throttle until the end of the campaign. The latest round of fixtures will start with West Ham United vs Wolverhampton Wanderers at the London Stadium, and a victory will be of utmost importance to each team.
Nuno Espirito Santo has gradually pulled West Ham United closer to climbing out of the drop zone after spending over four months in the bottom three. The Hammers have been in the relegation scrap throughout the 2025/26 season, but recent results have pulled Tottenham Hotspur into the battle. The Portuguese tactician has overseen a run of only two defeats in seven games, and a victory on Friday will help West Ham climb to 17th.
On the other hand, Wolverhampton Wanderers have produced many dogged performances since Rob Edwards took over as the head coach. While the Black Country outfit’s resurgence may have come too late to mount a great escape, a run of one defeat in six matches has ensured that they will not go down without a fight. A few favourable results may even help them get off the foot of the Premier League table for the first time this season.
The reverse fixture saw Wolverhampton Wanderers cruise to a 3-0 win over West Ham United, with Jhon Arias, Hwang Hee-chan, and Mateus Mane finding the back of the net. The Hard Tackle looks closer at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
West Ham United
Nuno Espirito Santo has received positive updates on the team news front ahead of his side’s latest fixture. The West Ham United head coach may be bereft of the services of only one first-team player vs Wolverhampton Wanderers on Friday.
Alphonse Areola (calf), Aaron Wan-Bissaka, and Konstantinos Mavropanos (concussion protocol) are fit and available for Friday’s match. Additionally, Jean-Clair Todibo (muscular), Crysencio Summerville (calf), and Callum Wilson (knock) face late fitness tests to determine their availability. So, Lukasz Fabianski (lower back) is the only player in the treatment room.
Mads Hermansen is an automatic pick between the sticks, with West Ham United lining up in a 4-3-3 formation in front of him vs Wolverhampton Wanderers on Friday. The backline will feature Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Axel Disasi, and Andy Diouf.
As for the midfield unit, Mateus Fernandes will line up alongside Soungoutou Magassa and Tomas Soucek in the middle of the park. Finally, Pablo will lead the line for West Ham against Wolverhampton Wanderers, with Jarrod Bowen and Valentin Castellanos completing the numbers in the offensive unit.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Hermansen; Wan-Bissaka, Mavropanos, Disasi, Diouf; Fernandes, Magassa, Soucek; Bowen, Pablo, Castellanos
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Unlike his counterpart in the West Ham United dugout, Rob Edwards has not received any positive updates on the team news front ahead of the trip to the London Stadium. The Wolverhampton Wanderers head coach will be without two first-team players on Friday.
Sam Johnstone (knock) is closing in on returning, but Friday’s game has come too soon for the English shot-stopper. Meanwhile, Enso Gonzalez is a long-term absentee for the away side due to a knee injury.
Jose Sa is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Wolverhampton Wanderers lining up in a 3-5-2 formation in front of him vs West Ham United. The central defensive unit will feature Yerson Mosquera, Santiago Bueno, and Ladislav Krejci. Meanwhile, Jackson Tchatchoua and Hugo Bueno will start as the two wing-backs.
The wide duo will provide width and creativity from the flanks and protect the centre-backs during the defensive phases. As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Joao Gomes and Andre Trindade in the central areas, while Mateus Mane will take up the advanced spots. Finally, Tolu Arokodare and Adam Armstrong will be the two strikers for the Black Country outfit.
Probable Lineup (3-5-2): Sa; Mosquera, Santiago Bueno, Krejci; Tchatchoua, Joao Gomes, Andre, Mane, Hugo Bueno; Armstrong, Arokodare
Key Stats
- West Ham United have won their last five Premier League home games vs Wolverhampton Wanderers. Only against Blackburn Rovers (9 from 1996 to 2008), Middlesbrough (7 from 2000 to 2009), and Sunderland (6 from 2002 to 2010) have they won more consecutive ties at home in the competition. However, Wolves are aiming to complete the double over West Ham for the first time since 2019/20. Since their return to the Premier League in 2018, they’ve only beaten Southampton (9) more often in the division than they have the Hammers (8).
- West Ham United have lost only one of their last six home Premier League games (W1 D4), collecting more points over that period (7) than in their first nine home matches of the 2025/26 campaign (6 – W2 L7).
- Following a run of 11 successive defeats between October and December, Wolves have only lost four of their 13 matches in the Premier League since Gameweek 19 (W3 D6), with only Arsenal (11), Manchester City (11), and Brighton and Hove Albion (12) conceding fewer goals in that time than their 15.
- Wolverhampton Wanderers have scored two goals in their last three Premier League games (W2 D1), netting just one fewer goal in total (6) than in their prior eight games (7); they last netted twice or more in more successive outings in November 2024 (run of five).
- Both of Joao Gomes’s Premier League goal involvements this season have come in his last three outings (G1 A1). Meanwhile, only Elliot Anderson (259) has won possession more often than the Brazilian midfielder this term (164).
Player to Watch
Jarrod Bowen
While Tolu Arokodare, Adam Armstrong, and Tomas Soucek were viable candidates for this section, we have picked Jarrod Bowen as the Player to Watch for Friday’s Premier League clash between West Ham United and Wolverhampton Wanderers at the London Stadium.
The English international has more Premier League goals against Wolves than he does against any other side (6), with five of his six strikes coming in his last five home matches against them, netting in his previous three. So, Bowen will be the go-to player for Nuno Espirito Santo in the final third as the Hammers aim to pick up a much-needed victory this week and climb out of the relegation zone.
Prediction
West Ham United 2-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers
None of the last 16 Premier League meetings between West Ham United and Wolverhampton Wanderers has ended in a draw, with both sides winning eight apiece. The Hammers have failed to score in all eight of those defeats. However, most of these records will end on Friday, as the game has all the makings of a closely-contested affair.
Rob Edwards’s men have become tough to beat in recent weeks, while the Hammers have been impressive at home as each week has progressed under Nuno Espirito Santo. So, there may not be much to separate the two sides, and The Hard Tackle predicts a 2-2 draw, a result that benefits neither side.
