West Ham United vs Swansea City. Premier League.
London StadiumAttendance56,973.
Saturday 8 April 2017 14:59, UK
West Ham are hopeful Andy Carroll and Michail Antonio will both be fit for their key clash with Swansea on Saturday.
The duo were taken off in the 3-0 defeat to Arsenal on Wednesday, with Antonio coming off at half-time and Carroll replaced in the second half.
But Slaven Bilic hopes both will be available as the Hammers look to snap a five-game losing run and pull away from the Premier League relegation zone.
"Andy felt a groin at half-time against Arsenal, but it was not major," said the West Ham boss. "Andy is vital to us, of course. It's vital on Saturday and we need everyone now that can help us in this situation.
"Mikey felt really sick...and at half-time, we decided that we were going to basically take him off and rest him for Saturday."
The Hammers' recent dip in form has seen them slip down to 15th in the table, five points ahead of third-from-bottom Swansea.
After losing 3-1 to Tottenham in midweek, Paul Clement's side have lost three of their last four matches to slide into the relegation zone.
Aside from the doubts over Carroll and Antonio, West Ham have no other new injury concerns.
Defenders Aaron Cresswell, Winston Reid and Angelo Ogbonna and midfielder Pedro Obiang are out injured.
Top scorer Fernando Llorente could return for Swansea after missing the last two games with an ankle problem.
But Kyle Naughton is struggling with a hamstring injury sustained in the midweek defeat to Tottenham.
Midfielder Leroy Fer is likely to be deployed at right-back if Naughton misses out, while goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski will be checked after he suffered a heavy collision in the closing stages against Spurs.
West Ham have been beaten just once in their last eight Premier League games against Swansea, though it was at home to the Swans last season (W4 D3).
Swansea's 4-1 win in May 2016 over the Hammers ended a run of 12 away games in all competitions without a victory against them (D2 L10).
In his last six Premier League games against the Swans, Andy Carroll has scored five times and assisted another three goals.
West Ham United have lost their last five Premier League games - they haven't lost six in a row in the competition since March 2010.
The Hammers have already lost seven times at the London Stadium in the Premier League; four more defeats than they suffered in their final season at the Boleyn Ground (three). The most home defeats they've registered in a Premier League season is nine (2006/07, 2010/11 and 2013/14).
Swansea have lost four consecutive away games in the Premier League, conceding two or more goals on each occasion. They've never lost five in a row on the road in the PL.
Gylfi Sigurdsson has had a hand in 53 per cent of Swansea's away goals in the Premier League this season (eight of 15).
What a massive, massive game this is. If Swansea win it could bring West Ham right back into the relegation battle. It's must-win for West Ham, and if they can that should see them safe, but it would put Swansea into massive trouble.
It could be a nervy one, but I think it will be a draw.
Paul predicts: 1-1 (11/2 with Sky Bet)
Paul Clement's men were cut to even-money to face relegation following their late capitulation against Tottenham, while the Hammers are hardly considered safe at 12/1.
Andy Carroll heads the first goalscorer betting at 9/2 while the importance of Fernando Llorente is emphasised by his position at the head of the hosts' side of the market at 7/1.
West Ham v Swansea is included in this weekend's Super 6 line-up, with £250,000 up for grabs for simply predicting the six correct scores. Enter your selections here.
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