Declan Rice returns to West Ham as Arsenal hit with new injury woes – predicted line-ups and how to follow

West Ham host London rivals Arsenal this weekend, with both teams looking to build on impressive victories.

The Hammers produced a classic away performance to seal three points at Newcastle on Monday night in a much-needed boost.

The pressure was hugely on Julen Lopetegui to get a result, and they left Tyneside with a 2-0 win thanks to goals from Tomas Soucek and Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

Meanwhile, Arsenal ended their mini-winless league run with an emphatic victory over Nottingham Forest.

The Gunners then battered Sporting Lisbon 5-1 in midweek, so their confidence will be high ahead of the short trip across the capital.

West Ham vs Arsenal: Rice’s return

This will be the third time that Declan Rice has played at the London Stadium since his £105million move to Arsenal.

This is because the Gunners faced the Hammers in the Carabao Cup last year away from home.

On his last visit, he scored in a 6-0 win for Arsenal and refused to celebrate as a mark of respect to his former club.

He made 245 appearances for West Ham, starting as a centre-back before turning into an all-action midfielder.

He also helped them win the Europa Conference League title, so certainly left his mark while in east London.

The reception he received last year was mixed, so it will be interesting to see what happens this time.

• West Ham have lost more Premier League games overall (36) and at home (15) against Arsenal than they have vs any other opponent in the competition.
• Arsenal have lost just one of their last 16 Premier League away games against West Ham (W10 D5), winning this exact fixture 6-0 last season.
• West Ham have lost their last two home London derbies in the Premier League, going down 2-0 against Fulham and 3-0 against Chelsea. They last lost three in a row in December 2019, while they last did so without scoring in December 2008 – both runs included defeat to Arsenal.

West Ham vs Arsenal: Date and how to follow

This Premier League game is set to take place on Saturday, November 30.

Kick-off at the London Stadium is scheduled for 5:30pm.

The match will be broadcast on Sky Sports Main Event and Premier League.

Sky Go customers will be able to stream the action through their laptops or mobile devices. Alternatively, a NOW TV pass can be purchased.

talkSPORT will have updates throughout the afternoon, and talkSPORT.com will have regular updates on our dedicated Premier League blog.

To tune in to talkSPORT through the website, click HERE for the live stream.

You can also listen via the talkSPORT app, on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM.

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• Since the start of 2022-23, Arsenal have lost just two of their 26 London derby matches in the Premier League (W18 D6). One of these was against West Ham, which was the only one of the 26 games in which they’ve failed to score (0-2 in December 2023).
• West Ham have earned seven points from their last three Premier League home games (W2 D1), as many as they had from their previous nine at the London Stadium (W1 D4 L4).
• Having won 10 of their first 11 Premier League away games in 2024 (D1), Arsenal are now winless in their last four on the road (D2 L2). It’s their longest such run without a win since a run of seven between December 2019 and June 2020, the final six games of which were Mikel Arteta’s first in charge of the Gunners away from home.

West Ham vs Arsenal: Team news and predicted line-ups

Lukasz Fabianski has reclaimed his position as the Hammers’ number one goalkeeper ahead of Alphonse Areola.

Wan-Bissaka and Emerson are the first-choice full-backs, but Lopetegui could be forced into a change at centre-back.

Jean-Clair Todibo had to come off early in the second half against Newcastle with an unspecified problem, meaning Konstantinos Mavropanos is likely to start alongside Max Kilman.

Carlos Soler impressed against Newcastle in midfield alongside Soucek, who scored yet again.

Mohammed Kudus is still suspended after his initial three-match ban was extended to five after he hit two Tottenham players in the face in a recent defeat.

That means Crysencio Summerville is likely to be on the left again.

Lucas Paqueta, Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio are also nailed on to start.

For Arsenal, David Raya is the undisputed number one.

William Saliba will be the right-sided centre-back, but there is a doubt over Gabriel Magalhaes, who was withdrawn against Sporting.

If he can’t play, expect to see Riccardo Calafiori move into the middle, with Jurrien Timber at left-back and Thomas Partey at right-back.

That would see Mikel Merino come into midfield to join Martin Odegaard and Rice.

Bukayo Saka will be on the right, while Leandro Trossard is likely to fill in for Gabriel Martinelli, who limped off in midweek.

Kai Havertz is more than likely to lead the line.

• Following their 2-0 win at Newcastle last time out, West Ham are looking to pick up consecutive Premier League victories for the first time since March. Meanwhile, they could keep three consecutive clean sheets for the first time since a run of four in December/January last season, the third game of which was a 2-0 win over Arsenal.
• No player has scored more Premier League goals for West Ham this season than Tomás Soucek (3). 17 of his last 18 strikes for the Hammers have either put them one goal ahead (12) or drawn them level (5) in the match.
• Bukayo Saka has been involved in 21 goals in his last 25 London derby matches in the Premier League (9 goals, 12 assists), including five in his last six against West Ham. Overall he has 28 goal involvements in such matches (13 goals, 15 assists), with only four players registering more for Arsenal (Thierry Henry 55, Dennis Bergkamp 38, Robin van Persie 33, Ian Wright 32).
• Only Mohamed Salah (16) has been involved in more Premier League goals this season than Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka (12 – 4 goals, 8 assists). Indeed, Saka has both scored and assisted in three different games this term, with only Salah again doing so more (4).

West Ham vs Arsenal: What has been said?

After Arsenal secured their first European away win in in 13 months, Arteta was full of praise for his side.

He said: “I don’t think they’ve lost here in 18 months.

“They’ve been in top form, they’ve been better than everyone they’ve played here. To play to that level with the fluidity that we’ve done today, very pleased.

The performance was there a few times when we have played big teams. We played PSG and we were exceptional again. We played Bayern and were exceptional. But we made some mistakes and it cost us.

“That’s the level. We have to be able to cope. You have to make it happen. That creates belief. We need that consistency because the ability is there. It’s a big performance, a big win and we’re really happy.”

West Ham vs Arsenal: talkSPORT BET Odds

Match odds:

West Ham – 6/1

Draw – 18/5

Arsenal – 2/5

Bet Boost – Arsenal to win, Saka to score & Paqueta to be carded @ 8/1 (was 13/2)

*odds subject to change

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