Wolverhampton Wanderers host West Ham United in the Premier League on Saturday with both teams seeking a turnaround in fortunes. Separated by just one point, both clubs look evenly matched at the moment and could be set to cancel each other out.
Wolves are enduring a difficult campaign having spent much of it in the relegation zone. However, sitting just one point from safety, they are not doomed yet and a couple of positive results in their favour could see them climb out of the bottom three.
There have been signs of improvement for Wolverhampton Wanderers since Julen Lopetegui took charge. They have suffered only one regulation time defeat in their last six matches across all competitions, although they have lost their last four Premier League fixtures at Molineux.
The problem for Wolverhampton Wanderers is that they have been plagued by draws in recent weeks and lost to Nottingham Forest in the Carabao Cup on penalties after a 1-1 scoreline.
West Ham United will head to Molineux on a positive note after finally getting one over on Brentford this season. It was a 1-0 FA Cup victory at the Gtech Community Stadium with Said Benrahma’s second half goal proving the difference.
The task for West Ham now will be to build on that result as they have struggled to find their best form this season and sit just one point above the relegation zone. The win at Brentford was also their first in the last five matches across all competitions.
A small positive for West Ham is that they have done some good work on their travels lately with just one defeat in their last seven away matches across all competitions. However, David Moyes’ men remain suspect at the back and failed to hold on to the lead in the 2-2 draw at Leeds United in their previous Premier League fixture.
How the bookies view it
The bookies are split on this one with a win for Wolverhampton Wanderers priced at 30/17 by SBK while a victory for West Ham is valued at 17/10 by William Hill. A draw is set at odds of 47/20 by Unibet.
Head to head
West Ham United have a 22-21 edge with 11 draws from 54 previous matches with Wolverhampton Wanderers. The Hammers have also won the last two meetings, including a 2-0 victory in the reverse fixture, although Wolves earned a 1-0 win in the most recent clash at Molineux.
Players to watch
Raul Jimenez has endured a difficult season blighted by injuries but was back among the goals in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday. The striker was also on target in the last meeting with West Ham at Molineux and is priced at 7/2 by William Hill to find the net on Saturday.
Gianluca Scamacca could be worth keeping an eye on for West Ham as he was among the goals in the 2-2 draw at Leeds United. The striker was also on target in the reverse fixture with Wolves and is priced at 11/4 by bet365 to get on the score sheet on Saturday.
Anything else catch the eye?
Neither defence has shown much solidity lately, so both teams could be backed to score at 26/25 with Unibet. There were over 3.5 goals in West Ham’s previous Premier League fixture and a repeat is valued at 17/5 with Unibet while bet365 is offering 6/5 for over 2.5 goals.
There have been more goals after the break in two of the last three meetings and Saturday’s clash could be tipped to follow a similar pattern at 6/5 with Paddy Power.
This English Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Ham United will be played on Jan 14, 2023 and kick off at 15:00. Check below for our tipsters best Wolverhampton Wanderers vs West Ham United prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
