Crystal Palace
West Ham United FC
West Ham United FC
Two East London sides clash as West Ham and Crystal Palace are heading in opposite directions
Crystal Palace 1-1 West Ham
West Ham and Crystal Palace meet in a battle of two East London clubs who are facing different challenges as we head into the second half of the season.
Palace, playing their second home game of 2021, are searching for only their second win from what will be their last nine fixtures. Their position in the league table reveals that they are a team too good to be in danger, but not good enough to press on higher up the standings.
Their last match came as a 4-0 thrashing by Manchester City.
West Ham’s form is far better and, alongside Manchester City and Leicester, have won their last three matches on the bounce, all of them by a single goal.
This is evidence to the stubbornness that David Moyes has instilled in his squad, and the rumours are that he will soon be offered a new contract.
His side are the favourites here, but it’ll be a tough match at Selhurst Park.
Form Guide (all comps): DWLDL
Reasons to be cheerful:
Have taken points off Spurs, Leicester and Arsenal recently
Unbeaten in last four league meetings with West Ham
Reasons to be fearful:
4-0 City defeat will have dented confidence
Not won any of their last 19 games against teams from the top half
Crystal Palace will have had over a week’s break following their defeat against Manchester City, though face being without up to six players for this one.
Schlupp and Sakho are out through injury, though the likes of Zaha and Kouyate are anticipated to be available from the start in a boost to Hodgson’s side.
Despite being safe in their league position for the meanwhile, Hodgson will still be a little concerned at how much they are struggling to accumulate points currently, with just seven gained from their last nine games.
They have an abysmal record against top half clubs, and with West Ham in such a rich vein of form, will be in for a tough 90 minutes here.
Star Man – Wilf Zaha
Despite struggling with injury this season, with eight goals he has almost three times as many as his teammates.
Form Guide (all comps): WWWWW
Reasons to be cheerful:
Looking for six wins in a row
Antonio is fully fit and firing in front of goal right now
Reasons to be fearful:
Poor recent record against Crystal Palace
Palace will be tough to crack at home
David Moyes is enjoying his best spell as a manager since December 2013 when he was manager of Manchester United.
Not since then has he won four league matches in a row, but he has the chance to do just that against Palace here.
His side are on a wonderful spell of form right now, beating Doncaster and Stockport in the FA on a run that has seen them win five on the bounce. Despite star striker Michail Antonio suffering from injury at times this season, he’s finding the net with consistency now he’s back.
They will need to be cautious of Palace’s attack, of course. Wilf Zaha and co. can be a match for any team on their day, though the Hammers will feel they can keep them at arms’ length.
Star Man – Michail Antonio
Will be fresh after being rested in the FA Cup – the Hammers forward has scored in each of his last two league matches.
West Ham could move into the top four with a win
Hammers favourites though will be a close contest
Palace will fancy their chances of scoring too
West Ham are on their best run of form of the season and will be favourites to continue that here against a Crystal Palace side who are lacking in confidence right now.
Having said that, the Hammers’ form is bound to come to an end at some point, and Palace have a habit of securing points against teams further up the table.
Crystal Palace 1-1 West Ham
