The London Stadium is set to host a battle of huge consequences at either end of the table, as West Ham United will hope to halt Arsenal’s progress to stay in contention for safety.
A couple of weeks ago, West Ham United held the upper hand in the relegation battle, as Tottenham Hotspur continued their abysmal form of 2026. However, the tables have turned in little to no time, as one loss has put them back into the bottom three, and Spurs’ win over Aston Villa took them out of the relegation zone.
Now, West Ham have a massive game coming up at the London Stadium with Arsenal making the short trip across the capital. A win is necessary for Nuno Espirito Santo and their charges to keep their survival hopes alive, given both the Hammers and Spurs have tricky fixtures to manoeuvre before they end their respective seasons.
Even with a point, there will be hope for Nuno to secure safety, especially if Leeds United can help them with their game on Monday against Spurs. However, West Ham have a terrible record against Arsenal over the last two seasons at home, where the North Londoners have scored six and five goals respectively.
Arsenal are flying high after a tremendous week of football in North London, as well as results elsewhere. Last weekend, Mikel Arteta’s side delivered a stellar performance against Fulham to keep themselves on course to take the title race to the wire, but Manchester City’s surprise draw away at Everton has turned the tide, and now the Premier League race is in the hands of the Gunners.
That was followed by a comprehensive performance against Atlético Madrid to seal a first Champions League final appearance in 20 years for Arsenal, where they will face PSG at the end of the month. For now, Arteta will completely focus on the title race, knowing that winning the remaining three games will bring the Premier League trophy back to North London, irrespective of what Manchester City do.
Hence, they will come to the London Stadium with the clear intention of winning the clash and marching towards the title. The Gunners may have two relatively winnable games after Sunday, as they will host Burnley next at the Emirates, and then play a Crystal Palace side, who have made it to the UEFA Europa Conference League final, which will take place three days after the season-ending clash against Arsenal.
Team News & Tactics
West Ham United
Nuno Espirito Santo does not have fresh issues on the team news front, and he could select a near-unchanged eleven for this home clash against Arsenal. Reserve goalkeeper Lukasz Fabiański is the only one absent from proceedings, and the manager could make only one possible alteration, that too if he feels the need to.
West Ham have relied on January signing Taty Castellanos to lead the line, but after an ineffective performance against Brentford, Nuno might be looking to change. In his place, the West Ham boss could play the experienced Callum Wilson if he feels the need to, with skipper Jarrod Bowen and Crysencio Summerville providing support from the wide areas.
The manager will continue to prefer Axel Disasi and former Arsenal star Konstantinos Mavropanos to lead the backline, with Kyle Walker-Peters and Malick Diouf reprising the full-back roles. Tomas Soucek and Mateus Fernandes are the preferred personnel in central midfield, with Pablo likely to play in the advanced role behind the centre-forward.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Hermansen; Walker-Peters, Mavropanos, Disasi, Diouf; Fernandes, Souček; Bowen, Pablo, Summerville; Wilson
Arsenal
Arsenal’s injury problems have eased considerably, as Mikel Arteta had a strong bench on Tuesday against Atlético Madrid, with Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard returning to action. The Gunners boss surprisingly kept an unchanged lineup from the win over Fulham, which might continue for this trip to West Ham United.
There could be a few potential changes that Arteta could make, such as bringing in Piero Hincapié for Riccardo Calafiori and Gabriel Martinelli for Leandro Trossard. However, the manager might do neither, and stick with the team that started on Tuesday, which could see the impressive Myles Lewis-Skelly start in midfield.
The focus is more on keeping cohesion with the current setup that is performing at a high level, and continuing this until the end of the season. Martinelli, Odegaard, Cristhian Mosquera, and Martin Zubimendi have done well to come off the bench to see out games, something Arteta might continue.
Eberechi Eze will also keep his place in the attacking midfield role, as will Bukayo Saka, who has scored in back-to-back games. The impressive Viktor Gyokeres will continue to lead the line following his top-notch displays against Fulham and then Atletico Madrid.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; Lewis-Skelly, Rice; Saka, Eze, Trossard; Gyokeres
Key Stats
- West Ham United have lost all five of their home London derbies in the Premier League this season. No team in English league history have ever lost six home games against fellow London teams in a season.
- West Ham United are unbeaten in their last six Premier League games at the London Stadium, last having a longer unbeaten run on home soil between September 2015 and April 2016 in their final season at Upton Park (15 games)..
- Arsenal are unbeaten in their last six trips to the London Stadium.
- Arsenal have scored 11 times in their last two games at the London Stadium.
- Arsenal have scored 27 goals via set pieces in the Premier League this season, more than any other side, with their 17 from corners also the most by a team in a season ever. West Ham United, meanwhile, have conceded the most corner goals (15) and only Bournemouth (25) have conceded more from set pieces than the Hammers (23).
Player to Watch
Declan Rice
A man-of-the-match performance at the Emirates against Atletico Madrid places Rice as one of the in-form stars in this Arsenal side, who are chasing the Premier League-Champions League double. However, he must now put in a similar display against his former side, West Ham, even if a win for the Gunners pushes the Hammers towards relegation.
It is the business end of the season, and Rice, more than anyone, is far more determined to get results on board to help Arsenal towards the Premier League crown. The English international will be the man in focus as the midfielder returns to his old stomping grounds, and he could become West Ham’s biggest fear.
Prediction
West Ham United 1-2 Arsenal
West Ham will hope for a good early start against Arsenal, as a quickfire goal could help them stabilise things. However, the task is rather difficult, and the team is under pressure to get a win on board, which might set a dangerous precedent against a team that can punish sides attacking them.
Arsenal are the favourites to collect all three points, and while they are not under the particular pressure West Ham are, that only gives them the upper hand. Mikel Arteta will want to continue with the momentum from their recent wins, and he will demand a result that would take the team closer to the Premier League title.
