It’s the big one tonight, the one we’ve all been waiting for. The one dubbed ‘El Sackico’ as both Julen Lopetegui and Gary O’Neil are on the verge of losing their jobs. Probably something to do with the latter drinking 20 cups of tea a day in all honesty.

A possible betting angle after Michail Antonio’s recent horror crash could be to back West Ham players to score and be carded. e.g. Jarrod Bowen To Score & Be Booked (25/1) on Bet365. This is just an example of course but there’s the possibility that any of the Hammers take their top off with a message of support for their number 9. They’re warming up in ‘Antonio 9’ shirts and are walking out in tops adorning the Jamaican striker’s name.

💰 Punt: Emerson Palmieri Over 0.5 Assists
📗 Bookie: Betfair/Paddy Power
🎲 Odds: 9.50 (17/2)
⚽️ Game: West Ham vs. Wolves

Gary O’Neil’s Wolves side are the worst team in the Premier League at defending set-pieces. Of the 36 goals they’ve let in, 11 of those have came from set-piece situations. Including the 2 Craig Dawson put into the back of his own net in last week’s 4-0 humiliation by relegation rivals Everton. 6 of the 18 goals they’ve conceded when playing away from Molineux have also came from set-pieces, which is the worst in the league. I’d imagine Emerson Palmieri should regain his starting position here after being benched for the 3-1 midweek defeat to Ruud Van Nistelrooy’s Leicester City side.

Italian full-back Emerson only has a singular PL assist to his name this season, which came when his corner was headed in by Tomas Soucek to give the Irons the lead as they won 2-0 away to Newcastle a fortnight ago. Also on Monday Night Football… the stars are aligning! He should have a couple of opportunities to deliver to the likes of Soucek and Mavropanos tonight from dead-balls, the West Ham faithful should be right behind their side as they look to put the final nail in Gary O’Neil’s coffin. It’s just a shame they’re not playing at Upton Park anymore or the fans might have roared one in to the back of the net themselves from an Emerson corner!

Punt: Emerson Palmieri Over 0.5 Assists @ 9.50 (17/2) - Betfair/Paddy Power

Probably wait for team news to be confirmed but you might as well pair Emerson’s assist with either Tomas Soucek to score a header (55/1) on Bet365’s bet builder or Emerson anytime assist and Konstantinos Mavropanos to score anytime is (68/1) on Betfair or Paddy Power through their bet builder function as well. Or just split your usual stake and back the pair of them and hope both land!

Other bets which I was close to pulling the trigger but haven’t just yet or the odds aren’t quite enticing enough all relate to one man, PSG loanee Carlos Soler.

The Spaniard has finally had a run of consecutive starts since joining and has registered 8 shots in his last 3 games. He had 4 vs Newcastle, blanked vs Arsenal and had 4 more vs Leicester. He’s priced at 2.10 (11/10) with Betfair/Paddy Power to have 2+ Shots. 6 of those 8 shots have came from outside of the box and he is going to score from distance at some stage. Bet365 are priced at 28/1 for him to score from outside the box. Soler is 4.20 (16/5) to have 2 or more shots from outside the box with Paddy Power and 14.00 (13/1) to have 3 or more shots from range with the same firm.