West Ham vs Wolves Prediction & Pick | Sunday Premier League Preview
Pictured: Lukasz Fabianski. (Photo by Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images)
West Ham vs Wolves Odds
| West Ham Odds | +110 |
| Wolves Odds | +240 |
| Draw | +260 |
| Over / Under | 2.5 -125/+100 |
West Ham United will try to bounce back from their worst league defeat in four-plus years when they host Wolverhampton Wanderers in a battle of mid-table sides on Sunday.
West Ham were thrashed 5-0 by a suddenly surging Fulham attack last weekend, bringing an emphatic end to a four-match unbeaten league run. David Moyes' men have already had one occasion to put that performance behind them, defeating Freiburg 2-0 at home on Thursday night in the UEFA Europa League.
Wolves were held to a 1-1 home draw by a Nottingham Forest side playing for embattled manager Steve Cooper. That extended the Midlanders' unbeaten league home run to six games, but still felt disappointing after a stretch of taking points off Manchester City, Aston Villa, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur.
The home side has won while keeping a clean sheet in these teams' past four league meetings.
Find my West Ham vs Wolves prediction and pick below.
West Ham
Perhaps Moyes and company shouldn't evaluate last weekend's loss too deeply. While Fulham were deserved winners, the chance creation wasn't nearly as lopsided as the final score. And it might have been a case of the Hammers seeing the wrong team at the wrong time.
The Cottagers had already beaten Forest by the same score in midweek, with offseason additions Raul Jimenez and Alex Iwobi finding their footing.
But it was a game that showed one of the risks of Moyes' low block — that if a team solves it with an early goal, the defensive solidity that typifies most of West Ham's good results can unravel quickly. The Hammers have conceded three goals in all but one of their six league losses. Their opponent has scored inside the opening half-hour in four of those three-goal defeats.
West Ham will also have to manage the quick turnaround following their latest continental fixture. But that's less of a worry than it might be otherwise with both those games coming at the London Stadium.
They're also relatively healthy, with Michail Antonio the biggest missing piece and Edson Alvarez questionable after sustaining a hip injury in the win over Freiburg.
Wolves
Gary O'Neil's brand of football has been more open than anything else we've seen in the recent past at Wolves, particularly when playing in front of the home support. But it's often been contingent on facing an opponent willing to open the game, contributing to a list of results that don't match up with what you'd expect based on the league table.
Of the nine league games in which Wolves have taken points, five have come against teams in the top half of the table. Meanwhile, they've scored one time each in game against this year's newly promoted sides — taking just four points from those.
The other odd part? Success at home against more aggressive opponents hasn't translated to more success as an away side, where it's easier to draw teams out. An overall 2-4-1 (W-L-T) away mark isn't awful, but conceding three times to the likes of Fulham, Crystal Palace and even second-division Ipswich Town in the League Cup could represent a larger problem.
And worse news for Wolves? While West Ham have struggled when conceding first, they've excelled when getting the first goal, showing some of the best killer instinct in the Premier League when they're able to sit deep and counter.
West Ham vs Wolves
Prediction
This just feels like a bad matchup for the visitors — an away game where the home team is also completely comfortable trying to force their opponent to come forward. And if the Hammers can get on the board, it could become two or three goals rather easily.
And while the moneyline is probably a little too steep here to play the hosts, I think you can get value when you take into account how West Ham generally earn their victories.
I'm tying the hosts to a total above 1.5 goals to get a slightly better price: +165 odds and an implied 37.7% probability. The Hammers have scored two or more in all of their Premier League wins, and Wolves have conceded at least two in all but one of their Premier League defeats. I'd probably play it as low as +140 or so, which you can find at most books.
Pick: West Ham Moneyline and Over 1.5 Goals (+165, DraftKings)
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