West Ham v Arsenal: Back Lingard to continue hot streak

West Ham v Arsenal: Back Lingard to continue hot streak

Jesse Lingard loves scoring against Arsenal and he can celebrate his England return with another goal to continue his fine form for West Ham, says Paul Higham...

Happy Hammers the real deal

West Ham have surprisingly become the real deal under David Moyes and with just 10 games to go they're well in touch of the Champions League places - something which quite frankly would have been a ludicrous suggestion at the start of the season.

The Hammers very much deserve to be in fifth though, and could go level on points with Chelsea with a win on Sunday against Arsenal - one of just six teams to beat them in the league this season.

Barring an opening-day stumble to Newcastle, West Ham have only lost to teams in the so-called 'Big Six' while taking care of most of the rest - which shows they've been among the most consistent teams in the league in the most inconsistent of seasons.

It was a bit of a shame Moyes played it so safe at Old Trafford last week, but expect a bit more attacking, with Jesse Lingard back to celebrate his England call-up, as they look to extend their excellent home form.

Only Man City have won more points on their home turf this season - no fans, no problem for West Ham at the London Stadium.

Arsenal improving under Arteta

The Gunners were impressive in their derby win over Tottenham, which continued their recent up-turn in fortunes with a third win in the last five league games (D1 L1).

Although it looks a bit too late to make a late dash for Europe, Mikel Arteta is at least getting a decent tune out of his side now, and a trip to what is a fortress at the London Stadium will be a good yardstick for how far they've come.

It's rare for Arsenal to go into this fixture below West Ham in the table, just the fourth time in the Premier League in fact, but they have a great record in this game with more away wins against the Hammers (13) than any other side in the league.

Arteta's side have also been strong in London derbies this season, picking up 13 points against their city rivals to top that mini-league.

West Ham's Achilles heel this term has been their approach against the bigger sides, whether you view Arsenal as big guns anymore is a matter of opinion, but especially after a tough Europa League tie on Thursday the Hammers would be wise to go on the attack from the start.

Gunners favourites as both teams should score

Arsenal are slight favourites at 2.45 with West Ham arguably surprising outsiders at 2.75 considering they're seven points above their rivals and have such a solid home record this season. The draw at 3.4 is a tempting way to go despite there being just two stalemates in the last 10 meetings.

They've got just 11 draws between them this season, but at half-time it's a different story with Arsenal being level 13 times and West Ham going one better with 14. With the visitors having to shake-off their midweek exertions it's well worth taking the 2.0 on a half-time draw here.

Arsenal have only been ahead at the break six times in the league this season, but they've won each one of those games so they'll be worth backing in-play if they go into the interval ahead.

No team has had more games go over 2.5 goals this season than West Ham, with their 17 the joint-most with Leicester, while Arsenal are just behind with 15, and overs is just about favoured here at 1.9 so is certainly worth consideration.

Both teams should fancy finding the net once at least - the Hammers have only failed to score once at home all season, and that was on the opening day against Newcastle last September.

For their part, Arsenal have only failed to score twice in the last 12 on the road - both teams to score is short at 1.73 but worth including in Same Game Multi options.

Lingard to maintain hot streak

A winner here is tough to call - West Ham have been more consistent and Arsenal could well be a bit leggy, but if Moyes sits back then the visitors could have the initiative.

Individually, Lingard has hit the ground running and after four goals in six league games it'd be no surprise to see him find the net again at 4.5 in the anytime goalscorer market.

Lingard loves scoring against Arsenal, with four goals in eight games against the Gunners they are his favourite Premier League opponents to score against.

Alexandre Lacazette stayed on the bench against Olympiacos on Thursday, so could be restored to the starting line-up here, and he's Arsenal's top scorer in the league this season with 10 and also loves a goal in London derbies after bagging in six of the last eight.

The Gunners have won all four derby games Lacazette has scored in this season and he's 2.6 to find the net again and 4.2 to score in an Arsenal win.

West Ham certainly have enough to win this, but Arsenal's recent improvement and Moyes' tactics are just enough to stop me pulling the trigger on them, with preference for goals at both ends and a half-time draw.