West Ham United will be desperate to return to winning ways when they welcome Crystal Palace to the London Stadium on Saturday.
The 2025/26 Premier League season resumes this weekend with Gameweek 5. The latest round of fixtures starts with the Merseyside Derby at Anfield before the action continues with four simultaneous matches, including West Ham United vs Crystal Palace at the London Stadium.
The 2025/26 season has been dreadful thus far for West Ham United, as they have won only one of their five games in the first four weeks of the campaign. While the victory over Nottingham Forest was impressive, the Hammers have been horrendous at the back, and Graham Potter’s style of play has not brought the best out of the attackers.
On the other hand, Crystal Palace could not have asked for a much better start after losing a pivotal figure for a third successive summer transfer window. The Eagles began their 2025/26 campaign by winning the FA Community Shield, and they are one of only three Premier League clubs yet to lose a game this term. Oliver Glasner’s men come into this weekend’s clash on the back of a win on penalties over Millwall in the EFL Cup second round.
The corresponding fixture last season ended in a 2-0 win for Crystal Palace, with West Ham United defender Konstantinos Mavropanos seeing red. The Hard Tackle looks closer at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
West Ham United
Graham Potter has a new roster issue that is hampering his preparations ahead of his side’s latest fixture. The West Ham United manager will be bereft of the services of three first-team players vs Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Tomas Soucek is the latest absentee after picking up a straight red card last weekend against Tottenham Hotspur. The Czech midfielder accompanies Aaron Wan-Bissaka (stomach) and Luis Guilherme (shoulder) on the sidelines.
Mads Hermansen will retain his spot between the sticks despite his unimpressive performances, and West Ham United will line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him vs Crystal Palace on Saturday. The backline will feature Kyle Walker-Peters, Kostas Mavropanos, Max Kilman, and El Hadji Malick Diouf.
As for the midfield unit, Soungoutou Magassa will get an opportunity to make his mark from the get-go when he lines up alongside James Ward-Prowse in the double pivot. Mateus Fernandes will reprise the no. 10 role, with Jarrod Bowen and Crysencio Summerville being the two wide attackers. Finally, Lucas Paqueta will be the false nine for West Ham against Crystal Palace.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Hermansen; Walker-Peters, Mavropanos, Kilman, Diouf; Magassa, Ward-Prowse; Bowen, Fernandes, Summerville; Paqueta
Crystal Palace
Unlike his counterpart in the West Ham United dugout, Oliver Glasner has received positive updates on the team news front ahead of the trip to the London Stadium. The Crystal Palace manager will be without five first-team players on Saturday.
Adam Wharton (groin) and Eddie Nketiah (hamstring) are fit and available to take on West Ham. However, Walter Benitez (finger), Chadi Riad (knee), Caleb Kporha (back), Cheick Doucoure (knee), and Ismaila Sarr (thigh) are still in the treatment room.
Dean Henderson is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Crystal Palace lining up in a 3-4-2-1 formation in front of him vs West Ham United on Saturday. The central defensive unit will feature Chris Richards, Maxence Lacroix, and Marc Guehi. Meanwhile, there is no looking past Daniel Munoz and Tyrick Mitchell as the two wing-backs.
The wide duo will provide width in the final third and protect the centre-backs. As for the midfield unit, the fit-again Wharton should pair up with Will Hughes in the middle of the park. Finally, Jean-Philippe Mateta will lead the line for Crystal Palace against West Ham, with Daichi Kamada and Yeremy Pino forming the supporting cast.
Probable Lineup (3-4-2-1): Henderson; Richards, Lacroix, Guehi; Munoz, Hughes, Wharton, Mitchell; Yeremy Pino, Kamada; Mateta
Key Stats
- West Ham United have lost four of their last six Premier League games vs Crystal Palace, winning just one (D1), a 2-0 victory at Selhurst Park last season. The Eagles are unbeaten on their six most recent Premier League visits to the London Stadium (W3 D3); they could win successive away games at West Ham in the competition for the first time since February 2015.
- West Ham United are winless in seven home Premier League games (D3 L4), losing the three most recent ties by an aggregate score of 2-10; the Hammers last lost four successive matches at the London Stadium in Manuel Pellegrini’s final four home Premier League matches in charge in November/December 2019.
- Crystal Palace have lost only two of their 17 most recent away Premier League games (W8 D7), keeping nine clean sheets in their previous 15 on the road. Their previous nine away clean sheets before this stretch came over a spell of 51 games. The Eagles have won three of their last five away London derbies in the Premier League (D2), keeping four clean sheets. They had been winless in 13 away derbies before this run (D6 L7).
- West Ham United have conceded three or more goals in three of their four Premier League games thus far; only two sides have done so in four of their first five matches of a campaign in the competition before – Everton in 2024/25 and the Hammers in 2010/11.
- Callum Wilson has been involved in five Premier League goals across his last five starts against Crystal Palace (G3 A2). However, the veteran English striker has not started against the Eagles in the competition since October 2023.
Player to Watch
Jean-Philippe Mateta
While Yeremy Pino, Jarrod Bowen, and Lucas Paqueta were viable contenders for this section, we have picked Jean-Philippe Mateta as the Player to Watch for Saturday’s Premier League clash between West Ham United and Crystal Palace at the London Stadium.
Mateta has scored four goals in his last three Premier League outings against West Ham United. The French striker has scored Crystal Palace’s four most recent Premier League goals against the Hammers. Only Wilfried Zaha (5) has scored more strikes for Crystal Palace vs West Ham in the competition. He will aim to continue his excellent run and guide the Eagles back to winning ways in the Premier League.
Prediction
West Ham United 1-2 Crystal Palace
The pressure is growing on Graham Potter, and West Ham United’s recent links with Slaven Bilic and Nuno Espirito Santo add to the woes. However, there are some positives in West Ham’s recent showings, as they are significantly underperforming their xG, and better finishing can aid Potter’s cause.
However, West Ham’s soft underbelly is becoming increasingly simpler to exploit, and Crystal Palace should get past the defenders and the calamitous Mads Hermansen. But the home side will not go down without a fight, and The Hard Tackle predicts a 2-1 win for Oliver Glasner and his charges.
