Overview
Despite a strong squad upgrade in the summer transfer window of 2024, West Ham have been inconsistent this season. The Hammers have lost two consecutive matches against Arsenal and Leicester City, bringing their total number of Premier League defeats so far this season to seven (third most in the league).
The London home team's defense has been shaky and conceded 8 goals in the last 2 rounds. Meanwhile, their offense has only scored 3 goals in the last 2 matches. With only 15 points and ranked 14th (before round 15), the pressure is on coach Julen Lopetegui.
However, the upcoming home match against Wolves could be an opportunity for West Ham to regain their confidence. After winning two consecutive matches against Southampton and Fulham, the Molineux team was brought back to earth by Bournemouth and Everton with heavy scores (2-4 and 0-4).
By the end of round 14, coach Gary O'Neil's team had the worst defense in the league with 36 goals conceded and ranked second to last on the rankings, 6 points behind West Ham.
West Ham have won their last four Premier League home games against Wolves and kept a clean sheet. Only twice in the history of the competition have the Hammers won five consecutive home games without conceding against a single opponent - Coventry (1919 to 1937) and Wolves (1920 to 1958).
West Ham beat Wolves both times last season, winning 3-0 at the London Stadium and 2-1 at Molineux.
Human resources situation
West Ham will be without Michail Antonio after the striker was involved in a car accident, while Danny Ings and Jean-Clair Todibo will also undergo fitness tests ahead of the match.
On the other side of the front line, defender Yerson Mosquera is still unable to return after undergoing knee surgery in October. In addition, Enso Gonzalez, Sasa Kalajdzic and Boubacar Traore also have different problems. Meanwhile, defender Nelson Semedo is suspended due to accumulating enough yellow cards.
Expected lineup:
West Ham: Fabianski, Wan-Bissaka, Mavropanos, Kilman, Palmieri, Alvarez, Soler, Bowen, Soucek, Kudus, Fullkrug.
Wolves: Bentley, Doherty, Gomes, Dawson, Ait-Nouri, Doyle, Lemina, Bellegarde, Sarabia, Cunha, Hwang Hee-chan.
The match between West Ham and Wolves takes place at 3:00 a.m. on December 10 (Vietnam time).
