Preview: Hammers looking to continue Arsenal's winless streak
The last time Arsenal won a match in any competition, was a 2-0 victory over Hull City at the Emirates on the 4th of December. Since then, the Gunners have drawn two league matches and lost one, while also losing against Napoli in their final group match of the Champions League.
During their winless streak, Arsene Wenger's defense has conceded nine goals in four matches, with six of them coming against Manchester City at the Etihad.
Prior to that, the Gunners had managed eight cleansheets from nine matches in all competitions. On Boxing Day, they will want to get back to their solid defending against a West Ham side that is winless in four league matches.
Arsenal's highly anticipated match on Monday night against Chelsea ended in a scoreless draw, but regardless of that, the North London side is tied at the top of the table with 36 points, along with Liverpool.
A victory at Upton Park could give Arsenal the top spot again, depending on how Liverpool does at the Etihad against Manchester City.
Arsene Wenger will likely rotate a few players after their hard fought match on Monday, under heavy rain. Lukas Podolski could feature in the starting XI, while Laurent Koscielny is still a doubt, after picking up a deep cut to his knee against Manchester City.
Even without Koscielny, the Gunners may not face too much of a task against a West Ham attack that is ranked 17th in the Premier League.
Without Andy Carroll, Sam Allardyce has been forced to use Modibo Maiga, Ricardo Vaz Te and Carlton Cole, with all three accounting for four goals this season.
If the Hammers are to pull off another upset as they did in the Capital One Cup against Tottenham, they will have to put in a much better performance. From their last six meetings with Arsenal, the East London side has lost all of their matches.
The West Ham manager will be hoping that after watching the London Derby on Monday, he will be able to put together a good enough strategy to stop Arsenal from grabbing the three points at Upton Park.
Where to watch this match - Live Stream, Start Time, TV Channels, Live Scores
Watch West Ham vs Arsenal live on Thursday, December 26, 2013:
In Canada at 10:00 ET on: Sportsnet West, TalkSport Radio, Sportsnet East, Sportsnet Pacific, Sportsnet Ontario, Sportsnet World Online
In the UK at 15:00 BST on: BT Sport 1, Arsenal Player, BBC Radio 5 Live
In the USA at 10:00 ET on: TalkSport Radio, Premier League Extra Time, NBC Sports Live Extra, DirecTV, SiriusXM FC
For full TV listings, be sure to visit the West Ham vs Arsenal match page.
