LONDON rivals West Ham United and Arsenal lock horns in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup at the London Stadium on Wednesday night.
After ending their 43 year wait for a trophy with last season’s Europa Conference League triumph, the Hammers will be hoping to get their hands on more silverware this term.
David Moyes’ men sealed their passage to the last 16 of the EFL Cup with a less than convincing 1-0 win at Lincoln last month.
Last time out, the Hammers suffered their third straight defeat in all competitions when losing 1-0 to Everton in the Premier League, on an afternoon where both of my bets copped in the capital.
As for Arsenal, they kicked-off their quest for a first EFL cup success since 1993 with a battling 1-0 win at Brentford.
Mikel Arteta’s men make the short trip across the city this midweek after dishing out a 5-0 drubbing to Sheffield United in the Premier League on Saturday.
Outright Betting
West Ham United are winless in their last eight matches against Arsenal and the bookmarks’ odds suggest that trend will continue, with a home win chalked up at 5/2 (Bet 365) while the 90 minute draw can be backed at 12/5 (William Hill).
Arsenal are 5/4 (Unibet) favourites as they look to extend their current winning streak to three matches in all competitions.
Betting Angles
Arsenal will have their backers at the above-mentioned price, however I’m going to instead construct Bet Builder and merge Arsenal to Qualify, Arsenal to Score and Under 6 Match Goals at 4/5 (Bet 365).
With numerous other competitions to contend with, both managers will likely ring the changes for this cup tie, however the visitors superior strength in depth should see them come out on top.
Mikel Arteta’s men have lost just one of their opening 14 matches of the season across all competitions and have yet to fire a blank, and they can keep up their impressive form in front of goal when faced with a fragile West Ham backline.
David Moyes’ men have found clean sheets hard to come by this season, with the Hammers' only shutouts this term to date coming against lowly Lincoln and Sheffield United.
With that in mind, I’ll back Arsenal to score at least one goal en-route to qualifying from this tie, but to round off the Bet Builder, I'll go with under six match goals.
Neither of these two teams have been involved in a game that has produced six or more strikes this season and with fixtures coming thick and fast for the pair, a high-scoring shootout looks unlikely in east London.
With all things considered, I'll also back Mikel Arteta’s men to deliver Over 1.5 Team Goals during this cup tie at 23/20 with UniBet.
This bet would have paid out in nine of the Gunners' 14 fixtures this season and they possess the firepower to strike twice against a West Ham team leak more than their fair share.
This EFL Cup match between West Ham United and Arsenal will be played on Nov 1, 2023 and kick off at 19:30. Check below for our tipsters best West Ham United vs Arsenal prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.