West Ham v Arsenal: Goals not a given at the London Stadium

Monday Night Football sees Arsenal travel to West Ham and Paul Robinson is predicting fewer goals than expected.

West Ham v Arsenal
Monday December 9, 20:00

A big night for Pellegrini

West Ham's revival proved short-lived, as after ending their seven match winless streak with a shock victory at Stamford Bridge, they went down with a bit of a whimper at Molineux on Wednesday.

Manuel Pellegrini remains a manager under pressure and he hasn't been helped by his marquee summer signing being out-of-form.

Sebastian Haller looked decent in his opening few games, but since then he has just netted just once - and that was back on October 5.

The French striker was back in the starting line-up against Wolves, but if Antonio is fit, Haller could find himself back on the bench. Other than that, I wouldn't expect too many changes from the team that played on Wednesday.

Ljungberg still in search of first win

Arsenal's season went from bad to worse on Thursday as they lost 2-1 at home to Brighton - extending their run to nine matches without a win in all competitions.

Freddie Ljungberg has been in temporary charge for two games now and the results have been most disappointing. He could only lead his team to a draw at Norwich, before the aforementioned loss at the Emirates last time.

Clean sheets are a thing of the past for the Gunners, and they have conceded two goals in each of their last five outings - three of which were at home.

Nicolas Pepe had one of his better games when he came on at half time against the Seagulls, so it's likely that the big money signing will be in the XI at the London Stadium. At the back, Kieran Tierney could come in for Saed Kolasinac who picked up an injury late on in the same match.

Match-odds lottery

The Gunners haven't won on the road in the Premier League since their opening away game of the season. They beat Newcastle 1-0 that day, but there has been no clean sheet since, as they have picked up just three more points from a possible 18.

Despite all of that, they are the 2.18 favourites on the Betfair Exchange. West Ham's poor form is the main reason for the price on offer, but it doesn't take much analysis to conclude that backing Arsenal at those odds is madness - win or lose.

The Irons have won twice in front of their own fans this term, and they are trading at 3.35 to make it win number three.

The last of those victories came back in September though, and since then it's been three defeats and a draw from their four home games.

The third option in the match-odds market is the draw, which is the outsider of the three. It is available to back at 4.00 on the Exchange, and out of the three options, it would be my choice - but that's only if I were forced.

Thankfully nobody is forced to make a wager, and for me, there is much better value to be had in other markets for this fixture.

Take the value on Under 2.5

I like the goal-markets for this match, but my selection might surprise a few. Under 2.5 is a very tempting 2.94, and I can't leave that unbacked - despite the frailties of the two defences on show.

Arsenal's 2-2 draw at Carrow Road actually ended a run of three straight away games to end with two goals or fewer. For all their attacking talent, the North Londoners have struggled to create chances away from home, and they recently failed to find the net at Bramall Lane and the King Power.

Admittedly, the London Stadium hasn't been as tough a place to go to as those two grounds this year, and both Newcastle and Spurs scored three times in West Ham's last two here.

Unders backers had a bit more success prior to those two matches though, as three of their previous four in front of their own fans had ended with two goals or fewer.

If you think I'm completely off target with this selection, Over 2.5 Goals can be backed at 1.48.