West Hamvs.Crystal Palace

The Eagles will be seeking revenge against the Hammers after they suffered a 2-0 defeat in the reverse fixture at Selhurst Park at the end of August last year.

Match preview

Four days after suffering a 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa in the FA Cup, Graham Potter marked his Premier League managerial debut with West Ham by guiding the Hammers to a much-needed 3-2 victory over Fulham at the London Stadium on Tuesday night.

Although Alex Iwobi's second-half brace set up a nervy finish, goals from Carlos Soler, Tomas Soucek and Lucas Paqueta ultimately secured maximum points for West Ham, who have climbed up to 12th place in the Premier League table, 10 points above the drop zone and nine points behind the top seven.

Potter has admitted that the Hammers' victory against Fulham was "stressful" at times and his team "cannot get carried away", but he was pleased with the application of his players and to watch three goals fly into the back of the net, especially with attacking trio Jarrod Bowen, Michail Antonio and Niclas Fullkrug all out injured.

West Ham, who have not won back-to-back Premier League games since February/March 2024, will endeavour to complete a top-flight double over Crystal Palace for the first time since the 2016-17 campaign when the two teams face off on Saturday.

The Hammers will fancy their chances of making the net ripple, as they have scored in each of their last 21 Premier League encounters with the Eagles - their longest scoring streak against an opponent in their top-flight history.

Crystal Palace have put together a five-game run without defeat in all competitions and preserved their unbeaten start to 2025 when they secured a 2-0 victory away against Leicester City on Wednesday night.

Second-half goals from Jean-Philippe Mateta and Marc Guehi helped the Eagles pick up maximum points for the third time in their last four Premier League away games, as well as extend their unbeaten run on the road to six matches - their longest in the top flight since February 1992.

Oliver Glasner was pleased with the reaction of his players following a "louder" half-time discussion in the dressing room, and the Austrian boss now sees his Palace side sitting 14th in the table, eight points clear of the relegation zone.

Crystal Palace head into Saturday's encounter with West Ham having won just one of their last 22 away London derbies in the Premier League (D11 L10) and they are winless in their last 13 such games since beating the Hammers 2-1 in November 2022.

The Eagles' recent form at West Ham bodes well ahead of their trip to the London Stadium, though, as they are unbeaten in their last five away meetings with the East London outfit; only against Tottenham Hotspur have they ever had a longer unbeaten away run against an opponent in their top-flight history (seven between 1990 and 2004).

West Ham United Premier League form:

D

D

W

L

L

W

West Ham United form (all competitions):

D

W

L

L

L

W

Crystal Palace Premier League form:

W

L

D

W

D

W

Crystal Palace form (all competitions):

L

D

W

D

W

W

Team News

West Ham will be without Antonio (leg), Bowen (foot), Fullkrug (hamstring) and Jean-Clair Todibo (unspecified) due to injury, while Crysencio Summerville (thigh) is doubtful and will be assessed ahead of kickoff after missing the midweek win over Fulham.

Paqueta was deployed as a false nine last time out and the Brazilian could retain his place in a central role if Potter opts against handing Danny Ings a start down the middle.

Vladimir Coufal will be hoping to force has way into the first XI, but Aaron Wan-Bissaka is set to keep his place at right-back, joining Max Kilman, Konstantinos Mavropanos and Emerson Palmieri in a four-man defence.

As for Crystal Palace, Matheus Franca (muscle) and Adam Wharton (groin) remain sidelined with injuries, while Jefferson Lerma will be assessed after he was taken off on the 20-minute mark in Palace's win at Leicester due to illness.

Mateta, Eberechi Eze, Will Hughes and Tyrick Mitchell were among those who also suffered with illness prior to kickoff, but they all started against the Foxes and are in contention to play again this weekend.

The potential absence of Lerma could see either Cheick Doucoure or Daichi Kamada handed a start in centre-midfield next to Hughes, while the rest of Glasner's lineup could remain intact.

West Ham United possible starting lineup:

Fabianski; Wan-Bissaka, Mavropanos, Kilman, Emerson; Alvarez, Rodriguez; Kudus, Soucek, Soler; Paqueta

Crystal Palace possible starting lineup:

Henderson; Richards, Lacroix, Guehi; Munoz, Hughes, Doucoure, Mitchell; Sarr, Eze; Mateta

We say: West Ham United 2-2 Crystal Palace

Fourteen of the last 15 Premier League meetings between West Ham and Crystal Palace have seen both teams score, with three or more goals scored on 10 of those occasions, so goalmouth action at both ends can be expected this weekend.

The Hammers and the Eagles both have reason to be confident of success here, but there is little to separate these two teams, so an entertaining score draw could be on the cards in East London.

Written by

Oliver Thomas

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