West Ham United vs Norwich City

West Ham United will be looking to apply more pressure on fourth-placed Arsenal when they take on Premier League basement boys Norwich City at the London Stadium.

West Ham United have got off to a flying start to the new calendar year, racking up back-to-back competitive triumphs by an aggregate score of 5-2, including a 2-0 win over Leeds United in weekend FA Cup action. Following a run of three Premier League matches without winning (D1, L2), the ‘Hammers’ have won their last two league games in a row, notably scoring 3+ goals on each occasion. David Moyes’ men will now be looking to build on that momentum and improve their indifferent home league form of late (W1, D1, L1), with each of those three games seeing both teams on the scoresheet. Norwich’s visit to London looks like a prime opportunity for West Ham to launch a new winning streak at home, as they’ve won their last two Premier League H2Hs after winning just two of their previous ten meetings in the competition (D6, L2).

On the other hand, Norwich City eked out a narrow 1-0 FA Cup win over lower-league outfit Charlton Athletic at the weekend to put an embarrassing five-game losing streak to a halt. However, West Ham will be a different kind of challenge, especially considering the ‘Canaries’ have failed to get on the scoresheet in six of their last seven Premier League fixtures, including the last five in a row. Indeed, Dean Smith’s men have netted a mere eight goals in 19 Premier League games this term en route to equalling the worst-ever scoring record at this stage of the season in the competition’s history. Additionally, they have only won one of their last 28 top-flight meetings with the London sides in the nation’s capital (D6, L21), courtesy of a 2-1 win at the league newcomers Brentford back in November.