Charlie Nicholas has predicted West Ham to lose when they travel to Arsenal on Tuesday night for a quarter-final clash in the Carabao Cup.
The Hammers face their London rivals at the Emirates Stadium in the EFL Cup and will be hoping to move a step close to Wembley/.
They last reached a domestic final back in 2006 when they lost to Liverpool in a memorable FA Cup final and David Moyes has the opportunity to put his side’s name in the semi-final draw.
However, Sky Sports pundit Nicholas is convinced that West Ham will make wholesale changes for the midweek cup clash as the Premier League will remain a focus for them.
Nicholas has tipped Arsenal to runout 2-0 winners at home, with Theo Walcott picked out as the first goalscorer.
“The league has to be the priority [for West Ham] here despite climbing a few places and I’d expect seven or eight changes,” he wrote in his column for Sky Sports.
“Arsenal will play some of the kids again but I can see them wearing the visitors down, with the quality of Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott being enough to get the job done.”
OPINION
West Ham certainly have nothing to fear going into the cup clash and this is a brilliant opportunity to make it all the way to Wembley for a final. They are obviously going to rest key players as Premier League survival is paramount to the Hammers, but Arsenal are also going to give the night off to some of their star men. West Ham have made significant improvements already under Moyes’ tenure and going deep into a cup competition will only boost the momentum at the club. Andy Carroll has had to be patient recently for his opportunity and will be desperate for a chance, while goalkeeper Joe Hart could also be contention so West Ham won’t be without senior players.