West Ham United and West Bromwich Albion will both be looking to build on crucial victories in the Premier League when they lock horns at the London Stadium on Tuesday evening.
The Hammers edged past Burnley 1-0 at the weekend, while Sam Allardyce claimed his first win as West Brom manager in a thrilling 3-2 triumph at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Match preview
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The European dream is well and truly alive for West Ham, who marched to their third 1-0 victory in a row across all competitions against Burnley on Saturday afternoon.
Michail Antonio returned to fill the void left by Sebastien Haller's departure to Ajax, and the 30-year-old tapped in from Pablo Fornals's cross after just nine minutes to propel the Hammers to victory on their own turf.
Ninth-placed West Ham are expected to delve into the transfer market to secure a replacement for Haller, but with Antonio fit and firing on all cylinders again, he will be determined to prove to David Moyes that a new frontman may not be necessary for their Europa League bid.
Saturday's narrow win comes after Moyes's men had beaten Stockport County and Everton by the same scoreline, and having now kept four clean sheets in succession, West Ham are yet to ship a goal in 2021.
The capital outfit now find themselves level on points with London rivals Chelsea as the season approaches its midway point, although coronavirus-hit Aston Villa are three points behind having played three fewer matches, so there is plenty of work still to be done for this in-form West Ham side.
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Allardyce has never been afraid to criticise his West Brom crop during his below-par start to life in the hotseat, but there is now genuine belief that the 66-year-old could once again pull off one of his famed great escapes.
The Baggies manager earned his first victory in the dugout at the sixth attempt on Saturday lunchtime - claiming the Black Country bragging rights in an enthralling 3-2 win over Wolves at Molineux.
Matheus Pereira tucked away two penalties either side of a Semi Ajayi header, and even though Wolves struck through Fabio Silva and the returning Willy Boly, West Brom held on to claim their first away win of the season.
The atmosphere in the Baggies camp would not have been positive after being knocked out of the FA Cup by Blackpool, and they are still five points adrift of safety in 19th, but that vital win at Wolves has given Allardyce's men something to build on heading into the second half of the campaign.
West Brom scraped a 1-0 win when the two sides met in last season's FA Cup, but the Baggies are winless in nine Premier League meetings on West Ham's turf, with six of those games ending in stalemates.
West Ham United Premier League form: DLDDWW
West Ham United form (all competitions): LDDWWW
West Bromwich Albion Premier League form: DLDLLW
West Bromwich Albion form (all competitions): LDLLLW
Team News
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West Ham have very little to worry about on the injury front, although Fabian Balbuena remains unavailable after coming into close contact with a COVID-positive individual.
Moyes has conceded that Arthur Masuaku will not be back for another couple of months, and on the other side of defence, Ryan Fredericks returned to the bench against Burnley but will struggle to displace the solid Vladimir Coufal.
It would be a surprise to see any member of Moyes's XI from Saturday drop out here, meaning that Said Benrahma will be out to net his first top-flight goal for the club in his fifth start.
West Brom will be able to welcome Conor Gallagher back from suspension for this one, but Sam Johnstone and Matt Phillips have tested positive for coronavirus.
Grady Diangana missed out the win at Molineux with a hamstring injury, and it seems unlikely that he will recover in time for this game.
Allardyce will be reluctant to make too many changes from Saturday's victory, but Gallagher and Darnell Furlong could return to the XI ahead of Romaine Sawyers and Dara O'Shea respectively.
West Ham United possible starting lineup:
Fabianski; Coufal, Dawson, Ogbonna, Cresswell; Soucek, Rice; Bowen, Benrahma, Fornals; Antonio
West Bromwich Albion possible starting lineup:
Button; Furlong, Ajayi, Bartley, Gibbs; Gallagher, Livermore; Snodgrass, Pereira, Grosicki; Robinson
We say: West Ham United 2-1 West Bromwich Albion
The confidence in the visitors' camp will be through the roof after such a dramatic victory against their Black Country rivals, but a trip to an in-form West Ham will undoubtedly prove a much sterner test for Allardyce and co. The Baggies boss will rally his troops for this game, but the Hammers have only suffered one defeat in their last 10 on home soil and should do enough to register a fourth win on the bounce here.
Top betting tip
Video prediction
Watch the Sports Mole Football Shorts prediction for this game below:
Ben Knapton
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 49.77%. A draw had a probability of 25.1% and a win for West Bromwich Albion had a probability of 25.1%.
The most likely scoreline for a West Ham United win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.42%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.45%) and 2-0 (9.04%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.95%), while for a West Bromwich Albion win it was 0-1 (7.56%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 9.5% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that West Ham United would win this match.
