Arsenal vs. West Ham United: Preview, TV schedule and how to watch online

Arsenal initially looked set for a genuine title charge, but an enormous raft of injuries well and truly derailed them over the second half of the season. Now, merely qualifying for the Champions League is some task for the Gunners, who will look to boost their chances of a top four finish with a win over West Ham United on Tuesday.

Everton leapfrogged Arsenal into fourth place with a win over Sunderland on the weekend, and are now a couple of points ahead of the Gunners. Finishing in the top four is still in the Toffees' hands, as even if Arsenal beat West Ham, Everton still have a game extra to play. Any further slipups could prove terminal to Arsenal's hopes of a top four finish.

However, despite their recent patchy form, Arsenal really ought to beat the Hammers. They are in some rather patchy form of their own, and come into this fixture on the back of a 2-1 defeat to league leaders Liverpool. Even so, Sam Allardyce has led his side to a comfortable 11th place position, with the Christmastime fears of a relegation battle never materialising.

Because of the importance of the fixture, it's unlikely that Arsenal boss Arsène Wenger will rest his star players -- despite many of them playing 120 minutes in the Gunners' penalty victory over Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup semifinal on the weekend. They'll still be without Jack Wilshere, Mesut Özil and the suspended Mathieu Flamini, among others.

West Ham's only injury concerns surround Joey O'Brien and Marco Borriello, who will almost certainly be unavailable, and the doubtful George McCartney and James Collins.

Out: Abou Diaby (knee), Theo Walcott (knee), Jack Wilshere (foot), Mesut Özil (hamstring) Mathieu Flamini (suspended). In doubt: Serge Gnabry (knee), Laurent Koscielny (calf), Tomáš Rosický (thigh).

Arsenal: Wojciech Szczęsny; Kieran Gibbs, Thomas Vermaelen, Per Mertesacker, Bacary Sagna; Kim Källström, Mikel Arteta; Lukas Podolski, Tomáš Rosický, Santi Cazorla; Olivier Giroud.

West Ham United: Adrián; Pablo Armero, Winston Reid, James Tomkins, Guy Demel; Matthew Taylor, Mark Noble; Mohamed Diamé, Kevin Nolan, Stewart Downing; Andy Carroll.