West Ham vs Wolves: Hammers seek first Championship win as visitors arrive in form

West Ham United host Wolverhampton Wanderers at the London Stadium on Tuesday night with the two recently relegated sides experiencing very different starts to life back in the Championship.

The Hammers are still searching for their first league victory of the season after taking two points from their opening three matches. A draw at Burnley was followed by a home defeat to Charlton Athletic before West Ham recovered from an early setback to draw 1-1 at Watford on Saturday.

Their Carabao Cup form has offered more encouragement, with a 4-1 victory away to Southampton demonstrating the attacking quality available when West Ham are able to establish control.

Wolves arrive in considerably stronger momentum.

César Peixoto’s side have collected seven points from nine in the Championship and have won three consecutive matches across all competitions. Their most convincing performance came on Saturday, when they recovered from conceding first to beat Stoke City 4-1 at Molineux, with Rodrigo Gomes scoring twice.

That contrast makes Tuesday’s meeting an early test of West Ham’s ability to turn performances into league results.

The hosts will again be without Tomáš Souček, who remains sidelined with the ankle ligament injury he suffered during the World Cup. Pablo Felipe returned to the squad against Watford and could move closer to competitive minutes after being an unused substitute.

Wolves have a longer absentee list. Kieran Trippier, Yerson Mosquera and Rafiki Said remain unavailable, while Jean-Ricner Bellegarde is progressing in his recovery but is still expected to miss another couple of weeks. Santiago Bueno returned to the bench against Stoke, while Jordan James could push for a starting place after scoring as a substitute.

With both clubs targeting an immediate return to the Premier League, the significance goes beyond an early September fixture.

Wolves have already established momentum.

West Ham are still searching for theirs.

A first Championship victory at the London Stadium would begin to change the mood around the Hammers, while another positive result for Wolves would strengthen the impression that Peixoto’s side have adapted to the division far more quickly.