Wolverhampton Wanderers FC vs West Ham United FC, Premier League 2022-2023, Today Match Prediction

Wolverhampton Wanderers FC vs West Ham United FC Match Prediction & Analysis

This is the second game this weekend featuring teams in or near the bottom three of the Premier League. With so much riding on this game for both Wolves and West Ham, it’s natural that the pressure is on.

Southampton and Everton, 20th and 18th respectively, also do battle at the same time, meaning that league positions could shift dramatically after 90 minutes.

Wolves have continued their positive start under Julen Lopetegui. Yes, they lost to Manchester United, but have achieved good results against Gillingham and Liverpool in the FA Cup and a draw to Villa in the league.

There is still a long way to go for Lopetegui’s side but they now look a force going forward. You wouldn’t be surprised if they accelerated up the league over the next month or so.

As for West Ham, you could say the opposite about them. With five defeats from their past six, they are above the bottom three on goal difference only.

Defeat here would see them dragged into the danger zone, although their performances have indicated that for some time now.

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Wolverhampton Wanderers FC Preview

Reasons to be cheerful:

     Have as many points from three games – four – as they did from previous nine

     Won their last home game against West Ham in November 2021

Reasons to be fearful:

     However, they’ve lost their last two meetings with the Hammers since

     They’ve suffered four successive defeats in the league

There’s a long way to go before we can talk about Wolves being safe this season – they remain in 19th place, after all. 

However, there now seems a belief in their players that was absent for the first part of the season. While they have only scored 11 league goals this campaign, they have been far better in front of goal recently.

They netted twice in the FA Cup game against Liverpool and have scored in each of their five games in all competitions. 

New signing Matheus Cunha, who initially joined on loan but has reportedly had his move made permanent, is pushing for his first start. In his first three substitute appearances, he appears to have the energy Wolves need.

After this fixture comes Manchester City, Liverpool in both the cup and the league, West Ham and Manchester City once again before the end of February. It doesn’t get much tougher than that for a club near the bottom.

Star Man – Raul Jimenez

The once-prolific Mexican has never looked the same since his head injury, but scored in Wolves’ defeat to Forest recently. He has four goals against West Ham but hasn’t netted in his last 12 league appearances.

West Ham United FC Preview

Reasons to be cheerful

     Won three of their last four meetings, including previous two

     Bowen and Scamacca have good records against Wolves

Reasons to be fearful

     On the verge of seven league games without victory

     Have conceded two or more goals in five consecutive matches

As the fortunes of one club appear to be on the rise, West Ham’s stock seems to be on the decline.

Having enjoyed a couple of high-flying seasons under David Moyes, it appears that West Ham have to prepare themselves for a relegation battle this time around.

They find themselves down there with the likes of Everton, Bournemouth and, of course, Wolves. All of which, as well as 20th place Southampton, will have aspirations of climbing to safety.

Other than the Saints, West Ham have the worst league form over the past six games and are conceding multiple goals in every game they play.

While they have a good record over Wolves, those wins came during better spells of form for the Hammers. Confidence appears at a low right now that only positive performances and results can fix.

Star Man – Jarrod Bowen

Bowen has four goals from his last five appearances against Wolves and is sure to be the Hammers’ chief threat here.