The team finally returns home after two tough away games, and they really ended that mini-trip in style with the excellent and unexpected 4-1 win at Everton on Saturday after the disappointing 0-0 game at Portsmouth. I say disappointing because we ended our ’scoring in every game this season’ streak, not for the point we came back with. A point away at Portsmouth is not as bad as some fans think, and many fans actually went to panic mode all of a sudden!

Back to Tuesday’s game.

West Ham are the only other team to EVER win at the Emirates in all competitions!

They also come to this game in a good mood after doing us a favor and making a really good come back to defeat Manchester United 2-1. I watched most of that game, and they did very well, didn’t roll over and actually tried to create something from the game. They had more possession, more shots on goal, more shots on target, and twice as many corners as United. Both goals came from set pieces - the first a corner from which the less ugly Ferdinand brother scored from. The second from a free kick which former gunner Upson scored from. Both goals were headers too, which is an important stat that I’ll come back to later.

West Ham have the best defensive record in the league outside the top 4, with only 17 goals scored against. Fortunately for us, there are also missing many players. Dyer, Bellamy, Bowyer, Boa Morta, Zamora, Gabbidon, Etherington, Faubert, Collins, and Davenport make a loong injury list, which significantly limits their attacking strength. Add to that the fact that both Solano and Parker were substituted because of injuries in the ManU game, and they really do look limited.

Back to the set pieces issue mentioned above - Both Ferdinand and Upson are tall defenders who are good headers of the ball and will be a threat at set pieces. But wait, there’s more … Dean Ashton and Carlton Cole are both taller than the defenders and are also a dangerous aerial threat. So imagine this, in any corner or free kick situation, they will have Ashton (6′2″), Cole (6′3″), Upson (6′1″), and Ferdinand (6′0″) in the box against Gallas (5′11″) and Toure (6′0″). We should try our best not to concede silly fouls near the box. Solano and Noble are two of the better crossers of the ball in the league. I worry about crosses to either side of the goal, hopefully they wont capitalize on the height advantage against Sagna and Clichy.

From our side, Van Persie remains injured as well as Walcott. I can’t find any news of other injuries. Correct me if Im wrong, but I think Flamini’s 5th yellow and Bendtner’s red rules them out of the Burnley game, so they should be fine. Eduardo is making a case for more starts. I honestly expect him to turn things around the second half of the season. My guess is that we will go back to 4-4-2 since we are at home playing against a mid-table team.

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In the last 10 years, we’ve played West Ham at home 8 times (they were relegated for 2 seasons). We won 6 and lost 2 . We scored 17 goals and had 6 against. That’s an average of about 2.1 goals a game against West Ham at home, and 0.75 conceded.

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My guess for our formation is -

**EDIT** Since I wrote this preview a day early, there was little news on team selection. It turns out that Sagna and Gilberto are out, while Eboue, Hoyte and Walcott are back in. My guess is that Eboue will start after his rest, either in last season’s role at right back or replacing Hleb. Rosicky did well last game and scored and I think Wenger will give him a chance. Hoyte would slot in at right back if Eboue replaces a winger.

I hope Fabregas and Hleb will get their groove back, and I really hope we start 2008 like we ended 2007! Also, lets give Ljungberg the welcome he deserves ….

Happy New Year in advance!