The Green Street Hammers Predict: Wolves v West Ham
By Louis Pye
We’re back from the international break and West Ham are set to travel to the black country to take on Wolves on Saturday afternoon.
The Hammers went into the break having just dismantled Liverpool at London Stadium, leapfrogging them up to third in the Premier League table in the process, whilst Wolves were defeated away to Crystal Palace after previously being in fine form.
West Ham did the double over Wolves last season, scoring seven goals in the process, whilst conceding just two. Can they do it again?
Whilst David Moyes’ men are flying high with confidence and will certainly be looking to come away with the three points, it is not expected to be a routine victory with Wolves possessing some talented attacking options, namely Raul Jimenez, Hwang Hee-Chan, and Francisco Trincao.
But what do our resident Green Street Hammers writers think the outcome will be? Can the Irons continue their winning streak or will the home side bounce back from defeat?
Alex: Wolves 1-1 West Ham
We’ve made a fantastic start to the season and we all just can’t wait to see West Ham back in action after the win versus Liverpool.
It’s Wolves this week and they should not be underestimated. They play high-energy attacking football under Bruno Lage and the likes of Raul Jimenez, Adama Traore and Hwang Hee-Chan could cause us issues, especially without Angelo Ogbonna. But with our attack full of confidence, Jarrod Bowen’s on fire and Pablo Fornals is getting better with every game, I’d be very disappointed to not get at least a draw out of this one.
James: Wolves 1-2 West Ham
Prior to last season, West Ham didn’t have a good track record against Wolves. The 2020/21 season changed that due to a 4-0 win at the London Stadium and 3-2 win at Molineux. The latter will bring back memories of Jesse Lingard’s goal, for sure.
Wolves have started to find some form, despite having a poor start to the season. The midfield unit is especially strong thanks to Pedro Neto and Ruben Neves, and Raul Jimenez is back to full fitness.
Moreover, former West Ham target Hwang Hee-Chan has been excellent since he came to Wolves. He has proven why he is the one that got away. I’m expecting an exciting yet difficult game. Given that West Ham is on a confident winning streak, I’ll say 2-1 to West Ham.
Mia: Wolves 1 – 3 West Ham
Following our fantastic win against Liverpool, and a strong international break for those who played, I believe such high confidence will ensure a win in Wolverhampton. Preparation has clearly been important to the Hammers, with Michail Antonio returning from international duty early to get back to training with the squad. This will be visible to see in the game today – Moyes is serious about maintaining this form.
However, Wolves aren’t an easy team to play. Despite a poor start to the season, form has started to pick up for them. They also have huge attacking threats in a recently-fit Raul Jiminez, Adama Traore, and Hwang Hee-Chan. Wolves shouldn’t be written off, and can very easily cause us problems in defence, especially with star-man Angelo Ogbonna out. Despite this, I still believe we have a higher chance of winning this game, and we have shown for the last few weeks that scoring goals are no problem for us.
Lou: Wolves 2-2 West Ham
Perhaps slightly pessimistic given our fantastic recent form, I am just slightly wary of some of the attacking options that Wolves have at their disposal, and I think there is definite potential to hurt us throughout the match.
Having said that, we are all aware that we also boast some fine players and we can score in a variety of different ways, so I certainly expect us to cause them problems at the other end too.
I have predicted a score draw, but I wouldn’t be in the least bit surprised to come away with maximum points given the confidence that is soaring through our veins at the minute.