Good news on Hammers v Arsenal Carabao clash
The Hammers fourth round Carabao Cup clash against Arsenal goes ahead at 7.30pm on November 1 and will be shown on TV.
TV likely to be the major consideration
The game will kick off 45 minutes before the Manchester United/Newcastle game which, to put it mildly, seems an odd bit of planning particularly as there is no live match planned for the Tuesday night ( October 31).
An EFL statement declares that with “Manchester and West Ham United being scheduled for Premier League action on Sunday 29 October and Saturday 4 November, their respective Round Four Carabao Cup games will both take place on Wednesday 1 November to allow for the appropriate recovery and preparation time for the fixture.”
It adds that “due to a number of Premier League games taking place on Sunday 29 October, options for live selections on Tuesday 31 October are impacted, meaning both both fixtures will be broadcast on the Wednesday, in staggered kick-offs.”
Even though we are nearly a month away from the Arsenal games it is fascinating to consider how David Moyes will approach the game given that despite an international break we will have been involved in five games in October – Freiburg, away, Newcastle , home, Villa , away, Olympiacos away and Everton at home.
Tomas Soucek declared recently that we are up for winning everything we are involved in of course but the manager will be looking keenly at his resources and how he can spread them over a continually crowded programme.