Two sides embroiled in an unexpected Premier League relegation dogfight lock horns at Molineux on Saturday afternoon, as Wolverhampton Wanderers entertain West Ham United.
Julen Lopetegui's side were knocked out of the EFL Cup by Nottingham Forest in midweek, while the Hammers recently overcame Brentford 1-0 in the FA Cup third round.
Match preview
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Only a few days after VAR fury took over for Lopetegui, whose Wolves side were denied a late winner in their FA Cup draw with Liverpool, the Molineux outfit suffered penalty-shootout heartache in their EFL Cup quarter-final with Forest.
Willy Boly had put the Tricky Trees a goal to the good against his former club before Raul Jimenez levelled from close range, but Ruben Neves and Joe Hodge both missed from 12 yards in the shootout to hand Forest a golden ticket to the semi-finals.
Ugly scenes soon took over as a melee broke out on the field, but with a place in the final four now a distant dream, Wolves must dust themselves down and turn their attention to a daunting run of fixtures versus West Ham, Liverpool (twice) and Manchester City in the space of a few weeks.
The West Midlands outfit's last Premier League contest ended in a 1-1 draw with Aston Villa, which did little to help their efforts to stave off relegation as they remain in 19th place in the standings - one point worse off than West Ham in the safety of 17th place.
Now winless in four successive matches under Lopetegui, Wolves also have an unwanted four-game Premier League losing run at Molineux to correct, while they have only scored a division-low five goals on their own territory so far this season.
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Perhaps on borrowed time at the London Stadium, West Ham manager David Moyes seemingly bought himself a few extra hours to turn the Hammers' fortunes around after gleaning revenge on Brentford with a narrow FA Cup triumph at the weekend.
Only eight days after suffering a 2-0 loss to the Bees in Premier League action, West Ham struck through Said Benrahma in the 79th minute to get the better of Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium, and in doing so setting up a fourth-round trip to Derby County.
Before any pipe dreams of silverware can materialise, West Ham have basement business to attend to in the Premier League, where they are hovering just above the relegation zone in 17th place after playing out a 2-2 draw with Leeds United last Wednesday.
Holding the Whites to a point ended West Ham's miserable five-game losing run in the division, but their winless streak in the top flight now stands at six matches, and it has been as long as seven contests since Moyes's side last won away from home in the Premier League - beating Aston Villa at the end of August.
Goals from Gianluca Scamacca and Jarrod Bowen propelled West Ham to a 2-0 victory over Wolves at the London Stadium in October, which marked the Hammers' fourth win from their last five meetings with Saturday's hosts, who triumphed in the other battle 1-0 at Molineux last season.
Team News
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There has been little movement in the Molineux infirmary in recent weeks, with long-term absentees Pedro Neto, Boubacar Traore, Sasa Kalajdzic and Chiquinho all still sidelined, and Diego Costa will need assessing due to a knock.
A few alterations will certainly occur for the hosts, as Max Kilman and Hugo Bueno eye returns to the backline, while Neves is sure to take his place in the engine room despite his recent penalty woes.
If Costa is unable to feature, a first start in a Wolves jersey should come the way of Atletico Madrid loanee Matheus Cunha, who came off the bench to set up Jimenez's equaliser at the City Ground.
As for West Ham, Vladimir Coufal sustained a blow to the knee following a challenge with Leeds' Crysencio Summerville last week, and his participation is up in the air after he missed the win over Brentford in the FA Cup.
There is optimism over the availability of Scamacca, Alphonse Areola, Kurt Zouma and Manuel Lanzini for the trip to Molineux, but Maxwel Cornet's calf problem may take a little bit longer to fully heal.
Moyes should largely keep faith with the first-string side that saw off Brentford, although Scamacca - who is aiming to score home and away against a single opponent for the first time in any top division - will push to displace Michail Antonio if fit enough.
Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Sa; Semedo, Kilman, Collins, Bueno; Nunes, Neves, Moutinho; Traore, Cunha, Podence
West Ham United possible starting lineup:
Fabianski; Kehrer, Dawson, Aguerd, Cresswell; Rice, Soucek; Bowen, Paqueta, Benrahma; Antonio
We say: Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-1 West Ham United
Slowly but surely improving on the goalscoring front under Lopetegui, Wolves have the ingredients that they need to trouble a shaky West Ham crop, but fatigue will undoubtedly work against them after their EFL Cup and FA Cup commitments.
Moyes's fresh-legged side can capitalise on their extra period of rest, but with the Hammers unable to end their hoodoo away from home, we expect this bottom-half clash to end all square.
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Top tip
Ben Knapton
