West Ham United are looking to build on a win in their first Premier League game under Graham Potter when they welcome Crystal Palace to the London Stadium this Saturday.
The Hammers secured an important 3-2 win over Fulham on Tuesday night as Carlos Soler, Tomas Soucek and Lucas Paqueta scored for a confidence-boosting triumph at the start of the Potter era. They were far from convincing in victory, but that will matter little to fans after such a torrid spell under former manager Julen Lopetegui.
Crystal Palace made it five games unbeaten by beating Leicester City at the King Power Stadium on Wednesday night. The Eagles were clinical in the East Midlands, securing a crucial win that lifted them eight points above the relegation zone.
Here 90 minutes a guide to the London affair.
West Ham vs Crystal Palace head-to-head results (last five games)
Current form (all competitions)
|
West Ham |
The Crystal Palace |
|---|---|
|
West Ham 3-2 Fulham – 14.01.25 |
Leicester 0-2 Crystal Palace – 15.1.25 |
|
Aston Villa 2-1 West Ham – 01.10.25 |
Crystal Palace 1-0 Stockport – 01.12.25 |
|
Man City 4-1 West Ham – 01.04.25 |
Crystal Palace 1-1 Chelsea – 01.04.25 |
|
West Ham 0-5 Liverpool – 29.12.24 |
Crystal Palace 2-1 Southampton – 29.12.24 |
|
Southampton 0-1 West Ham – 26.12.24 |
Bournemouth 0-0 Crystal Palace – 26.12.24 |
|
Earth |
TV channel/live broadcast |
|---|---|
|
Great Britain |
No telecast – live commentary on talkSPORT Radio 2 |
|
United States |
fuboTV, nbcsports.com, NBC Sports App, UNIVERSO NOW, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo, USA Network, UNIVERSO |
|
Canada |
fuboTV Canada, Fubo Sports Network 3 Canada |
West Ham will need to sign a new striker in the January window after Niclas Fullkrug suffered a nasty hamstring injury in the third round of the FA Cup which will turn it off for about three months.
Michail Antonio is also out with a broken leg and the influential Jarrod Bowen is out with a broken foot, while a late decision will be made on Crysencio Summerville’s availability according to Potter.
On the other side of the field, center back Jean-Clair Todibo is unavailable due to a muscle injury.
Predicted line-up of West Ham against Crystal Palace (4-2-3-1): Fabian; Wan-Bissaka, Mavropanos, Kilman, Emerson; Rodriguez, Alvarez, Soucek, Kudus, Soler; Paqueta.
The Crystal Palace welcomed the return of Will Hughes from injury in midweek, and was excellent in the win over Leicester. However, his midfield partner Jefferson Lerma was substituted during the first half at the King Power and is a doubt for the weekend.
Adam Wharton is already missing in the center of the park as he recovers from groin surgery, while Matheus Franca is a long-term absentee.
Palace also lost Trevoh Chalobah after he was recalled from loan at Chelseawith Chris Richards replacing him on Wednesday.
Predicted line-up of Crystal Palace against West Ham (3-4-2-1): Henderson; Richards, Lacroix, Guehi; Munoz, Hughes, Doucoure, Mitchell; Sarr, Eze; Mateta.
West Ham spirits will be lifted by a win on Tuesday, even if the display on the pitch was not perfect. Despite scoring three goals against Fulham and capitalizing on several defensive mistakes, injuries in the forward line mean creativity could be an issue against a stubborn Palace defence.
The Eagles were ruthless against Leicester and punished the Foxes’ profligacy, something they could repeat at the London Stadium. It will be a tight game between the London foes, with the points possibly shared – a result both sides would be happy with.
Prediction: West Ham 1-1 Crystal Palace
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