Arsenal will be looking to make it back-to-back victories to begin the Premier League campaign when they welcome West Ham United to the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
The Gunners eased to a 3-0 win over Fulham in their first top-flight fixture of the season, while West Ham were beaten 2-0 by Newcastle United in their home opener.
Match preview
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If nothing else, first-team manager Mikel Arteta has certainly made Arsenal supporters believe in their club again after just nine months in the job.
The Gunners have carried their momentum from the end of last season into 2020-21, which has begun with victory over Liverpool in the Community Shield and last week's win at Fulham.
It is now six wins in their last seven competitive outings for Arteta's men, including the Community Shield triumph, and they will be looking to keep the feel-good factor alive.
This is a fixture Arsenal tend to do well in, too, having defeated West Ham in 10 of their last 11 home encounters in all competitions.
Indeed, taking home and away fixtures into account, the Hammers have lost more Premier League matches against Arsenal (31) than versus any other opponent.
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David Moyes could certainly do with a surprise victory this weekend following last week's abject display, with Callum Wilson and Jeff Hendrick earning Newcastle a 2-0 victory.
West Ham did hit back with a 3-0 win over Charlton Athletic in round two of the EFL Cup in midweek, but that has done little to win over worried supporters.
United only ever seem to be a couple of bad results away from all-out anarchy, so Moyes will know the importance of quickly steadying the ship.
However, the East London outfit have a tough run ahead, taking on six sides from last season's top eight in their next six matches.
The Irons' away form picked up towards the end of last season, though, going three games unbeaten on their travels to conclude the season, including a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford.
A similar performance and result on Saturday would go a long way to appeasing disgruntled supporters, but in Arsenal they face one of the most in-form teams around.
Arsenal Premier League form: W
Arsenal form (all competitions): WW
West Ham United Premier League form: L
West Ham United form (all competitions): LW
Team News
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Arsenal remain without defenders David Luiz, Shkodran Mustafi and Pablo Mari for this first home game of the season, leaving Arteta with limited options at the back.
Granit Xhaka picked up a knock last time out that renders him doubtful for this match, possibly opening the door for Dani Ceballos to come in alongside Mohamed Elneny.
Given their display at Craven Cottage and the fact they have had a week's rest, enforced changes are unlikely this weekend, so the same front three can be expected.
Captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who signed a new contract in the week, has scored eight goals in his last six appearances for Arsenal in all competitions.
As for the visitors, Manuel Lanzini has overcome an injury issue and is in contention to start this match at the Emirates Stadium.
Sebastien Haller scored on his first start post-lockdown in the cup win over Charlton, giving Moyes a decision to make up top.
Felipe Anderson was also on target against the Addicks, and it is more likely that Pablo Fornals will drop out of the XI than Michail Antonio.
Arsenal possible starting lineup:
Leno; Holding, Gabriel, Tierney; Bellerin, Elneny, Ceballos, Maitland-Niles; Willian, Lacazette, Aubameyang
West Ham United possible starting lineup:
Fabianski; Fredericks, Diop, Ogbonna, Cresswell; Soucek, Rice; Bowen, Noble, Anderson; Antonio
We say: Arsenal 2-0 West Ham United
The mood around both clubs could not be much more contrasting. Arsenal enter the fixture on a high after kicking off their 2020-21 campaign with back-to-back wins, while West Ham lost to Newcastle in their league opener and have a very tough run of fixtures ahead.
Arsenal have lost their first home game in five of the last nine Premier League campaigns, which includes a defeat against West Ham in 2015-16, but we cannot see past anything other than a routine home win this weekend.
Top betting tip
Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 3.5:dataVideo prediction
Watch the Sports Mole Football Shorts prediction for this game below:
Daniel Lewis
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a West Ham United win with a probability of 40.93%. A win for Arsenal had a probability of 34.5% and a draw had a probability of 24.6%.
The most likely scoreline for a West Ham United win was 1-2 with a probability of 8.79%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-1 (8.22%) and 0-2 (6.32%). The likeliest Arsenal win was 2-1 (7.96%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.43%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 8% likelihood.
