Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson is expecting West Ham to lose against Arsenal this afternoon.

Writing in his column for Sportskeeda, Merson said that, while the Hammers will make life difficult for their opponents, their poor recent results indicate that the Gunners may come out on top:

“This is West Ham’s cup final – they’ll be looking forward to facing their London rivals. David Moyes’ side haven’t won a Premier League game since beating Arsenal in the reverse fixture nearly a month and a half ago, which shows that they are on a terrible run of form.”

“This is where Arsenal are at the moment – they are a very good team, but they need to show their killer instinct and see off games if they are to win their first league title in over 20 years.”

Merson has predicted a narrow 2-1 win for Arsenal, which would be a very disappointing result for David Moyes’ side.

West Ham have beaten their opponents twice this season already

Although Merson is right to point to the Irons’ poor recent form as a reason why they may struggle this afternoon, recent results have favoured the home team.

Back at the start of November, West Ham beat Arsenal 3-1 in the Carabao Cup, with goals from Ben White (OG), Mohammed Kudus and Jarrod Bowen.

There was no element of luck about the result either, as the Gunners’ consolation goal from Martin Odegaard only came deep into added time.

The first league fixture at the end of December also saw Moyes’ men come out 2-0 winners so they know that, if they play to their best, they can secure the three points. It would be a much-needed victory as well. As Merson mentions, they haven’t been on the winning side since beating Arsenal at the Emirates nearly six weeks ago.