Arsenal the first team to two goals is stand-out bet for West Ham visit

With West Ham losing five of their last seven in the Premier League and five of their last six against Arsenal at Upton Park, the 8/13 on offer for Arsene Wenger’s men to down the Hammers in east London again may rightly be considered accumulator material among the Boxing Day fixtures.

However, for those wanting to make a greater profit without taking much more of a risk, the best bet on offer in the London derby looks to be the 19/20 that Arsenal are the first of the two clubs to score two goals in the game.

Arsenal have netted at least twice on their last five visits to Upton Park and also in five of their six away games to opposition currently residing in the bottom half of the Premier League standings.

West Ham’s record this season against those with aspirations of a top-four finish lends itself to this bet too, as they have conceded at least twice in all four of their meetings with opposition in the top five of the standings.

What’s more, the Hammers have let in exactly three goals in their three home games against this calibre of opposition – against Manchester City, Chelsea and Everton.

Meanwhile, since Arsenal’s move from Highbury to the Emirates, this pair have met 13 times, with West Ham scoring twice or more against the Gunners on only one occasion and even then they had to recover from going two goals behind.

For believers of the unexpected, West Ham are 9/2 to beat Arsenal, while the draw can be backed at 11/4.

With West Ham conceding only four headers this season and the majority of the goals they let in coming from the right side of the pitch, Theo Walcott has to be fancied to find the target in the 90 minutes.

Walcott scored twice in Arsenal’s last road trip at Man City and is 5/4 to score at any time at Upton Park on Boxing Day.