Premier League: Wolves and West Ham United Clash as European Race Intensifies

Wolverhampton Wanderers vs West Ham United

Two European hopefuls are going to fight for important points at Molineux as the Wolves host West Ham United this weekend.

The Hammers may have the upper edge in the European race because they’re seventh in the Premier League standings with 45 points, but the 10^th-seeded Wolves aren’t far behind because they only trail by three points.

Both teams haven’t won their last two league matches, and Wolves and West Ham United drew 1-1 against Burnley and Tottenham yesterday, respectively. However, one of them can get back to winning ways this Saturday.

With so much at stake, the pre-game SBOTOP betting odds predict a close fight between the Wolves and the Hammers.

Talking Points

Ait-Nouri becoming indispensable for Wolves

With the Wolves missing their top scorers, Matheus Cunha and Hwang Hee-Chan, Rayan Ait-Nouri has become an unlikely source of goals for the team.

Rayan Ait-Nouri came through yesterday against Burnley to salvage a point, as he scored the equaliser for the Wolves by heading in Pablo Sarabia’s wide free-kick right before halftime.

The 22-year-old wing-back is thriving under Gary O’Neil’s tactics because he has now scored three goals in the Wolves’ past four games. For context, Rayan Ait-Nouri only scored once last season when the Wolves head coach was still Julen Lopetegui.

Other than Ait-Nouri’s resurgence, Wolves fans have to be excited by the fact that Matheus Cunha came off the bench against the Clarets last night after being sidelined for nearly two months due to a hamstring injury. After all, the Brazilian forward is the team’s joint-leading scorer alongside Hwang Hee-Chan with 11 goals.

Assuming there’s no physical setback for Cunha this weekend, he should be able to reclaim his spot in the starting lineup to replace Leon Chiwome.

As for Hwang Hee-Chan, the “Korean guy” remains a long-term absentee because he will be re-evaluated in at least two more weeks due to a hamstring injury.

West Ham United showing defencive frailties

Since winning their final three Premier League games in 2023, West Ham United have won just two of their 12 games in 2024 (D6, L4), and their porous defence is a huge reason why.

The Hammers are without a clean sheet in their last 11 matches and have now conceded 55 league goals this season, which is the same number that they gave up during the whole of the 2022-23 campaign.

Against Tottenham yesterday, West Ham United conceded a goal from Brennan Johnson in just the first five minutes, a perfect illustration of how horrendous their defence has been.

West Ham United did not have first-choice goalkeeper Alphonse Areola against Tottenham after he picked up a groin injury in their 4-3 loss to Newcastle United, and he is questionable to play this weekend. If the Frenchman sits this one out, 38-year-old Lukasz Fabianski is set to deputise once again.

History

West Ham United beat the Wolves 3-0 in their reverse fixture right before Christmas, as Mohammed Kudus scored twice in the first half and Jarrod Bowen added one more goal for good measure in the second half.

That was the Hammers’ fifth victory in their last seven Premier League meetings against Wolves (L2), though both losses in this run have come in their last two visits to Molineux.

Wolves have won four of their last seven Premier League home matches against West Ham United (D1, L2) and six of their last nine Premier League home matches overall, including their last two.

In terms of recent form, Wolves have the slight edge with two wins, two losses, and one draw in their last five, while West Ham United have one win, one loss, and three draws in the same period.

Betting Tip

As mentioned, the Premier League 2024 odds expect a cracker of a match this Saturday. Predicting a winner here is a tough call since Wolves are at 2.44 odds, while West Ham United are right behind them at 2.58, and a draw is at 3.30 in the 1X2 market.

Instead of choosing a winner, we’ll be looking at the possible goal count of this contest, and we feel that there will be enough Premier League 2024 highlights to go by from these two sides.

Other than our recommended bet above, you may also want to consider going for Over 2.75 at 1.95 or even Total Goal 4-6 at 2.80.

Furthermore, a Correct Score of 3-0 in favour of West Ham United – the result of their reverse fixture – is being offered at a generous 34.00.

 

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