ARSENAL face West Ham in the Carabao Cup as Declan Rice returns to his old stomping ground
The midfielder will make his first appearance at the London Stadium since making his £105million switch to the Emirates in the summer.
Rice and the rest of the Arsenal team will be in a bouyant mood for the fourth-round cup fixture.
The Gunners are coming off the back of the 5-0 mauling of Sheffield United on the weekend.
Eddie Nketiah starred in the fixture as he smashed home the first Premier League hat-trick of his career.
The result helped the North London side back to winning ways after their draw against Chelsea.
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The Gunners managed to come back from two goals to earn a 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge.
Rice himself will be keen to continue his own fine form, having picked up an assist and a goal in his last two games.
He will likely get a mixed reception from the West Ham faithful at the London Stadium.
It is thought that many will applaud the former captain, who helped the club win its first trophy in 43 years.
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However, there are some sections of the home support that were unhappy to see him join a London rival in the summer.
The West Ham fans could be in a less welcoming mood when Rice does appear after a frustrating week.
The Hammers have lost three on the bounce in all competitions, with the most recent defeat coming to Everton on Sunday.
The result against the Toffees came after the first European defeat in 17 matches at the hands of Olympiacos, which followed the 4-1 loss to Aston Villa.
Manager David Moyes will be keen for a big win to lift the mood at the club before serious questions over him start to be asked.
What is their form like?
Arsenal come into the game having only lost one game in their last five outings.
The defeat came in the Champions League to Ligue 1 side Lens in France.
Since the loss, the Gunners have gone unbeaten and picked up impressive wins over Sevilla, the Blades and Manchester City.
West Ham, however, have not won in four games, having only escaped defeat with a draw to Newcastle.
The last time the Hammers finished a game ahead was in their 2-1 win over Freiburg in the Europa League.
What is the team news?
David Moyes will have a full-strength side ahead of the huge Carabao Cup clash as Emerson can return to the fold after his one-match suspension.
But the Hammers manager is likely to rotate after witnessing his side lose to Everton at home.
Moyes will have Lucas Paqueta and Edson Alvarez available as they are suspended from the next Premier League fixture after collecting their fifth yellow cards against Everton.
Elsewhere, Mikel Arteta will continue without Gabriel Jesus (hamstring), Thomas Partey (muscle) and Jurrien Timber (knee).
Who will be the star men?
Arsenal’s star man and player to watch will undoubtedly be Declan Rice.
It will be interesting to see how he reacts to playing against the club that helped forge him into the player he is today.
Rice has shone so far this season, scoring two goals and picking up one assist.
The midfielder has also helped improve the Gunners’ midfield with his driving dynamic runs.
For West Ham, Moyes could use the cup game as another chance to hand Mohamed Kudus some minutes.
The Ghanian made his first Premier League start against Everton, but failed to impact the game.
The attacker has looked good for the most part since joining the Hammers, but a top outing against Arsenal could take him to a new level.
What’s been said?
West Ham star Aaron Cresswell is hopeful that a win against Arsenal can turn the club’s form around.
He said: “We’ve been in spells like this in many seasons and we’ve just got to stick together and get through it.
“One win changes everything again and we’ve got to stay positive, get back to the training ground, do what we do there and focus on the next game now.
“We’ve had some tough games, Aston Villa away, Olympiacos away, they’re not easy games, and yes, we could have been better today.
“We lacked that cutting edge in the final third, the goal we conceded was sloppy and like I said, we’ve got to get back to the training ground and put it right.”
Bukayo Saka however is hoping the win over Sheffield United will give Arsenal something to build on.
He said: “It’s looking good.
“We need to continue to build on this.
“Next week is going to be even harder, with two tough away games, but we’ll be ready and hopefully we can have a week like we just did.”
Score prediction
Arsenal win 3-1.
When is West Ham vs Arsenal?
- Arsenal travel to West Ham for a huge Carabao Cup fourth-round clash on Wednesday, November 1.
- It is scheduled to get underway at 7:30pm GMT.
- London Stadium is the allocated arena for this thrilling tie.
- West Ham rescued themselves a point from two goals down when the clubs last met in April.
What TV channel is it on and can it be live streamed?
- West Ham vs Arsenal will be broadcast LIVE on Sky Sports Main Event.
- Coverage is expected to commence from 7pm GMT – 30 minutes before kick-off.
- Fans can stream the action on NOW TV which is available for download via any mobile device or tablet of your choice.
- Alternatively, SunSport will have minute-by-minute coverage of the match through our live blog.
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What are the latest odds?
- West Ham to win 2/1
- Draw 23/10
- Arsenal to win 13/10
*Odds from Ladbrokes are correct at time of publication
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
