Crystal Palace vs West Ham United FC, English Premier League 2024-25, Today Match Prediction

Crystal Palace vs West Ham United FC Match Prediction & Analysis

In a battle of mid-table teams from last season, Crystal Palace will square off against West Ham at the Selhurst Park stadium in London. With just one victory separating them, these two teams concluded the previous campaign in ninth and tenth place in the points table, respectively. Moreover, both teams enter the contest on Saturday having suffered defeats in their opening games. 

 Even though both suffered defeats in their opening matches, Crystal Palace, managed by Oliver Glasner, will be the more disappointed of the two. Brentford, which placed 16th in the previous season's standings, defeated the Eagles by a score of two goals to one, with the consolation goal coming from an own goal. 

 Conversely, West Ham faced Aston Villa, a team that placed fourth in the league the previous year, in their opening game, which proved to be daunting. They did, however, have the advantage of being at home and having not lost there since 2011. Yet they were defeated 2-1. 

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Crystal Palace Preview

In a perfect world, Eberechi Eze's spectacular free-kick goal was disallowed by referee Sam Barrott, who controversially blew the whistle for a foul on the edge of the box before the ball entered the goal, and Crystal Palace's first game ended 2-1 instead of 2-2. It also meant that the VAR was unable to step in. 

However, the Eagles’ head coach, Glasner, did not blame the defeat on the disallowed goal. "In many things I saw today, we did well, but in decisive situations, we weren't on our top level, and that's why we lost." - said Glasner in the post-match interview. 

 With Michael Olise no longer in the squad, all eyes were on the guy who would fill the vacancy at right attacking centre midfield. For this game, Glasner went with the Eagles' new signing, Daichi Kamada. He pressed hard and had outstanding off-ball movement, but he was caught overlaying his passes and lost possession. Most crucially, there was a lack of cohesion among his teammates, implying that the Japanese international will require time to adjust. 

 The Eagles' conclusion last season—winning six of their final seven games—was greatly influenced by the success of Eze, Mateta, and Olise. With Olise gone and Kamada still not performing well, Eze and Mateta will face a lot of pressure in the next few games. 

Eze contributed significantly in the first game, while Mateta was unimpressive, failing to take a single shot in the 45 minutes he played. Nonetheless, Glasner will continue to trust Mateta and hope that he is healthy for Saturday's home game, where he will most likely lead the attack in a 3-4-2-1 formation.

Crystal Starting Lineup - Henderson (Goalkeeper); Richards, Andersen, Guehi, Munoz (Defenders); Wharton, Hughes, Mitchell (Midfielders) ;Kamada, Eze, Mateta (Forwards) 

West Ham United FC Preview

For a side that was expected to put forth a defensive masterclass, the Hammers suffered an early setback in their opening game as their opponents took an early goal in the very third minute of the game. From then on, it was all about chasing the game and playing a style of football that contradicted the personality of their coach, Julen Lopetegui. They did, however, get back into the game with a penalty, but it was all for nothing as Villa scored the winning goal in the 79th minute. 

Regardless of the goals, the story of the match was all about the opportunities they missed in the end. Three major chances were wasted, and their predicted xG was 2.46, compared to 2.03 for Aston Villa. With better finishing, they could have won or drawn the match. 

Given the Hammers' recent signings, it's surprising that Julen didn't start with Aaron Wan-Bissaka and instead went with Niclas Fullkrug. They may have given the team an advantage in defence and up front. Especially Wan-Bissaka, as the former United player is more attuned to the defensive side of things than Vladimir Coufal, even though the latter is more potent going forward. 

 Julen Lopetegui typically prefers a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 formation, but he preferred a more defensive 4-1-4-1 formation with the goal of providing a lot of central compactness and protection with numbers, making it difficult for the opposition to progress through the middle. Unfortunately, it did little to prevent them from ceding again, extending their streak of 19 games without a clean sheet. 

West Ham Starting Lineup - Areola (Goalkeeper); Wan-Bissaka, Todibo, Kilman, Emerson (Defenders); Rodriguez, Soucek, Bowen, Paqueta, Kudus (Midfielders); Fullkrug (Forward) 

CRYSTAL PALACE vs WEST HAM UNITED FC
Winning Prediction

After losing at home, it's time for West Ham to make amends away from home. However, their away record from last season paints a different picture. During the 2023–24 season, the Hammers won seven away games and lost 10. At the same time, they have lost four of their previous five games. Meanwhile, one of the losses occurred at Selhurst Park, where they fell 2–5.

 Crystal Palace, on the other hand, had excellent home form last season. Crystal Palace has won four of its previous five home games at Selhurst Park, with one loss. In addition, the Eagles defeated the Hammers 3-1 in their latest friendly preseason match. However, both sides are locked in the head-to-head duel, with nine wins apiece. Expect a close game with Crystal Palace having the final say. 

Crystal Palace to Win (2-1)

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