West Ham remained in fifth place as they continued the excellent run by defeating West Bromwich at the Hawthorns and the Hammers now hope to break into the top 4. Meanwhile, Swansea returned to winning ways thanks to an impressive display against QPR and they will fancy their chances of getting something from Boleyn Ground.

The dream continues for West Ham

Even if the club made some excellent signings in the summer, it is fair to say that nobody could have predicted such a good start to the season. For the first time in quite a while, the Hammers have decent strength in depth, which allowed them to keep the results respectable even when some important players were on the sidelines, with Sam Allardyce’s charges pretty impressive both home and away. West Ham quickly proved they have more than enough quality for a top half finish and if they continue playing like this, they might even join the race for European positions. The Hammers did really well to record back to back wins over Newcastle and West Bromwich despite missing the likes of Valencia, Song and Sakho, players who were integral to their early season success, and with the Ecuadorian now back in contention and the other two footballers in with a shot of facing Swansea, the Hammers can be trusted to extend the impressive scoring run. Their back line could face problems against very good Swans, but the hosts will once again be out to outscore their opponents.

Enner Valencia could start after recovering from injury, while Diafra Sakho and Alex Song are rated doubtful for the Swansea game.

Excellent performance against QPR

Inexperienced manager Gary Monk quickly sorted out all the problems and got the Swans playing to their potential, with their current league position (7th) no less than this team deserve. After the 2-1 loss at Etihad was followed by home draw against Crystal Palace, many believed Swansea could experience problems against revived QPR, but while the Liberty Stadium outfit needed almost 80 minutes to break the Rangers, their overall performance was nothing short of impressive. The Swans created a host of clear-cut chances either side of goals from Ki and Routledge, with Wilfried Bony especially unfortunate not to have scored at least one or two. But, the fact team’s attacking players were at their best against QPR is enough to suggest Swansea can hurt West Ham at Boleyn Ground. With both teams high on confidence at the moment and playing attractive attacking football, everything suggests we will see a very open encounter. Gary Monk’s charges will be eager to end the poor record on the road that saw them fail to win any of their last five fixtures.

Full-back Neil Taylor misses out through suspension, whilst Federico Fernandez is not yet ready to return from a calf problem.

Verdict

West Ham have been pretty impressive at home this season, but while the Hammers can be trusted to continue the good scoring run, especially if Song and Sakho return, keeping a clean sheet might not be possible. Swansea are extremely dangerous up front and with their attackers in very good form, a high-scoring match appears on the cards.

Top pick: Over 2.5 goals   2.10 (11/10) @ BetVictor

Alternative pick 1: Both teams to score   1.80 (4/5) @ Betfair

Alternative pick 2: Draw   3.40 (12/5) @ Stan James