On the back of sealing progression to the last 16 of the Europa League, West Ham United take to the London Stadium turf again on Sunday, as Wolverhampton Wanderers arrive for a Premier League date.
David Moyes's side advanced on the continent thanks to a 2-0 beating of Freiburg on Thursday, while their visitors came from behind to hold Nottingham Forest to a 1-1 draw last weekend.
Match preview
© Reuters
Inching one step closer to their dream of back-to-back continental triumphs, reigning Europa Conference League champions West Ham ensured that their ball would be in the pot for the Europa League last-16 draw by seeing off Freiburg in their top-of-the-table Group A showdown.
Mexican midfielder Edson Alvarez played provider for Mohammed Kudus to open the scoring before firing in one of his own in the 42nd minute - his first goal in West Ham colours - as the Irons bypassed a tricky two-legged playoff tie with a demoted Champions League outfit.
A professional performance in Europe was the perfect tonic to last weekend's Craven Cottage crushing, where West Ham were condemned to a harrowing 5-0 defeat at a free-scoring Fulham side, although reports of a sickness bug sweeping through the squad made that result somewhat more understandable.
That shock slaughter against their London rivals represents West Ham's only defeat from their last eight contests across all tournaments, during which time the Hammers have also gleaned a praiseworthy six victories to occupy ninth place in the Premier League table after 16 matches.
Since the start of November, Moyes's troops have played under the bright lights of the London Stadium on five occasions - prevailing four times while being held to a 1-1 draw by Crystal Palace - but another one of their erstwhile players now seeks to spoil the capital party.
© Reuters
On the books at Upton Park from 2011 to 2013, Wolves head coach Gary O'Neil could now spread some festive cheer around the West Midlands by ending his side's barren run of results on the road, which will be easier said than done if West Ham's winter exploits are anything to go by.
Wolves could have hammered the final nail into Steve Cooper's Nottingham Forest coffin last weekend, but the latter bought himself at least another week in his team's dugout at Molineux, where Matheus Cunha's equaliser wiped out a Harry Toffolo opener in a tense 1-1 draw.
Courtesy of their sixth Premier League home game in a row without defeat, Wolves are enjoying the obscurity of mid-table in 13th place - safely 10 points clear of the drop zone and only two points adrift of a top-half place - and their tally of 19 is matched by all of Bournemouth, Chelsea and Brentford.
However, while O'Neil's men are normally a tough nut to crack on home soil, they travel to London having lost each of their last three Premier League away games to Sheffield United, Fulham and Arsenal, although they have managed to score in seven successive road contests since an agonising 1-0 loss to Manchester United on the opening weekend.
January's Molineux meeting between West Ham and Wolves ended with this weekend's visitors triumphing by a goal to nil, but the Irons have won each of their last three home matches against the West Midlands outfit, scoring seven goals and conceding a grand total of zero in that hot streak.
Team News
© Reuters
Alvarez was not able to rejoice in his opening West Ham goal for too long on Thursday, as the former Ajax man was forced off nine minutes into the second half due to a blow to the hip, which Moyes has confirmed will be assessed ahead of Sunday's game.
Barring the touch-and-go Alvarez, though, West Ham's only other significant absentee is knee victim Michail Antonio, as goalkeeper Alphonse Areola made his return to the matchday squad for the win over Freiburg.
The Frenchman should now take his rightful place in goal over Lukasz Fabianski, while Pablo Fornals, Said Benrahma and Maxwel Cornet will fight for the right to make Moyes's first XI if Alvarez's knock does not settle down in time.
Meanwhile, Wolves boss O'Neil has revealed that Rayan Ait-Nouri is on course to be fit for Sunday's game as he enters the final stages of his recovery from an ankle issue, while the thigh injury Mario Lemina picked up against Forest is not serious either.
However, Pedro Neto will not be involved and is instead targeting a return against Chelsea on Christmas Eve, while Joe Hodge is still on the mend from shoulder surgery, and left-back Jonny Otto has been omitted from the first-team picture until the start of February at the earliest because of a training-ground incident.
Fresh from signing a new Wolves contract until the summer of 2028, the red-hot Hwang Hee-chan will endeavour to build on his eight-goal tally at the London Stadium, where Hugo Bueno may have to accept a spot on the bench if Ait-Nouri is fit enough to start.
West Ham United possible starting lineup:
Areola; Coufal, Zouma, Aguerd, Emerson; Fornals, Soucek, Ward-Prowse; Kudus, Bowen, Paqueta
Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Sa; Kilman, Toti, Dawson; Semedo, Lemina, Gomes, Ait-Nouri; Sarabia, Hwang, Cunha
We say: West Ham United 1-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolves are guilty of leaving the back door open away from home, but O'Neil's men often make at least one of their attacking forays count for something on rival territory and can feel confident of ending their painful scoreless run at the London Stadium.
A solitary goal may even be enough for O'Neil's steadfast troops to depart with a point, as West Ham have fewer than 72 hours in between matches and may struggle to penetrate O'Neil's defensive setup more than once.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
