Preview: West Ham United vs Wolverhampton Wanderers - prediction, team news, lineups

Two recently relegated Premier League sides meet on Tuesday night as West Ham United welcome Wolverhampton Wanderers to the London Stadium, with both clubs looking to continue moving in opposite directions after contrasting starts to life in the Championship.

The Hammers had their relegation confirmed on the final day of last season and have struggled to adapt to second-tier football, going winless across their opening three league games, while Cesar Peixoto's Wolves thrashed Stoke City at the weekend to extend their unbeaten run to five matches in all competitions and claim their first home victory since March.

Match preview

Despite securing victory on the final day of the 2025-26 Premier League campaign, West Ham could not escape relegation and subsequently suffered their first drop into the second tier since the 2010-11 season.

The East London club opted to retain Nuno Espirito Santo, who has previous experience of the Championship from his time with Tuesday's opponents, but the Portuguese coach has endured a difficult beginning to his first full campaign with the Hammers, who are still searching for their first league victory.

West Ham were always likely to feel the effects of a busy summer, particularly following the departures of key players including Crysencio Summerville and Mateus Fernandes, although they managed to keep captain Jarrod Bowen at the London Stadium despite interest from Premier League clubs.

Their league campaign began with a frustrating collapse at Burnley, where they surrendered a two-goal advantage, before a record crowd of 62,500 watched them fall to a 2-1 defeat against Charlton Athletic.

The Hammers then travelled to Vicarage Road on Saturday and had to settle for a point despite enjoying plenty of pressure, leaving them without a win from their opening three Championship matches.

They have, however, enjoyed considerably more success in the League Cup, beating Portsmouth and Southampton to reach the third round, and Espirito Santo will now be hoping that momentum can transfer into their league campaign.

As for Wolverhampton Wanderers, their relegation was confirmed considerably earlier than West Ham's after they finished bottom of the Premier League with just 20 points from 38 matches.

Following the summer departure of Rob Edwards, Wolves appointed Peixoto and have made an encouraging start under their new boss, entering the first midweek league fixture of the season second in the Championship with seven points from a possible nine.

An opening-day draw with Blackburn Rovers was a slight setback, but the West Midlands side have responded emphatically by recording comfortable victories over Preston North End and Stoke City to maintain their unbeaten league start.

Their impressive form extends beyond the Championship, with Wolves also overcoming Port Vale and Sheffield Wednesday in the EFL Cup to make it five matches without defeat in all competitions.

Their league victories have also arrived in convincing fashion, with nine goals from their opening three games making Peixoto's side the division's top scorers at this stage of the campaign, averaging three goals per match.

While Peixoto's side appear well placed to challenge for an immediate return to the Premier League, their defensive record remains an area for improvement after failing to keep a Championship clean sheet so far, something that was also a problem during their relegation campaign.

With both clubs dropping out of the Premier League together, there is plenty of recent history between them, with West Ham recording a comprehensive 4-0 victory the last time they sides met just a few months ago.

West Ham United Championship form:

West Ham United form (all competitions):

Wolverhampton Wanderers Championship form:

Wolverhampton Wanderers form (all competitions):

Team News

Espirito Santo came through the weekend without any fresh injury concerns, although the Hammers boss could make changes as he searches for a way to end their winless league run.

Joel Piroe scored on his West Ham debut two weekends ago but was dropped to the bench for the trip to Watford, leaving the on-loan Leeds United striker in contention to return to the starting XI on Tuesday.

Tomas Soucek is closing in on 300 league appearances for West Ham, but the Czech midfielder will have to wait to reach that milestone while he recovers from a thigh problem.

Wolves also came through their 4-1 victory over Stoke without any new injury concerns and Peixoto could be tempted to stick with the winning formula.

Fer Lopez, Rodrigo Gomes and Raul Jimenez have each scored twice in the league this season and are expected to retain their roles in midfield and attack for the visitors.

Should Peixoto decide to rotate, EFL Young Player of the Season winner Jordan James could be handed a first league start after the Welsh midfielder marked his third Wolves appearance with a goal from the bench on Saturday.

West Ham United possible starting lineup:

Hermansen; Veltman, Golambeckis, Kilman, Walker-Peters; Bowen, Engels, Kante, Solomon; Piroe; Castellanos

Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:

J. Sa; Tchatchoua, Djiga, T. Gomes, Bueno; Andre, James; R. Gomes, Lopez, Mane; Jimenez

We say: West Ham United 1-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers

These two sides have made contrasting starts to their return to the Championship, and we expect Wolves to extend their unbeaten run to six matches on Tuesday night.

West Ham possess enough quality to make this a close contest, but we expect the visitors' current momentum to carry them to a third consecutive Championship victory and potentially send them to the top of the table.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.