West Ham United will host Crystal Palace at the London Stadium on Saturday, looking to build on their impressive win earlier this week.
West Ham United picked up a 3-2 victory over Fulham, and they will look to put together a winning run now, starting with the game vs Crystal Palace. Graham Potter has been brought in to steady the ship, and the newly appointed West Ham manager will demand a strong performance from his players here.
The Hammers are currently 13th in the Premier League table, and they will look to close in on the top half with a victory at home. Meanwhile, Crystal Palace have shown impressive form in recent weeks as well, and they are unbeaten in five of the last six league matches.
The Eagles are coming into this game on the back of consecutive victories in all competitions, and it remains to be seen whether they can grind out a positive result here. They will be full of confidence heading into this game, and this is likely to be a cracking contest. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
West Ham United
West Ham United will be without Michail Antonio, who is out for the foreseeable future after being in a car accident. Jarrod Bowen misses out with an ankle injury, Jean-Clair Todibo has a knock, Niclas Fullkrug has a thigh injury, and Crysencio Summerville misses out with a knock.
West Ham will shape up in a 4-2-3-1 formation vs Crystal Palace, with Alphonse Areola in goal. Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Emerson Palmieri will start as the full-backs. They will look to contribute at both ends of the pitch. Max Kilman will form the central defensive partnership alongside Konstantinos Mavropanos.
As for the midfield unit, Guido Rodriguez will start alongside Carlos Soler in the double pivot. The two players will look to add defensive cover and control to the side from the deep. Lucas Paqueta will start as the attacking midfielder here, and he will look to create goalscoring chances for his teammates.
Luis Guilherme and Mohammed Kudus will add creativity and goals from the wide areas. Finally, Danny Ings, the only recognised striker in the squad, will lead the line for West Ham United vs Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Areola; Wan-Bissaka, Kilman, Mavropanos, Emerson; Rodriguez, Soler; Kudus, Paqueta, Guilherme; Ings
Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace will be without Matheus Franca and Adam Wharton due to a groin injury. Meanwhile, Rob Holding has been banished from the first-team squad.
Crystal Palace will shape up in a 3-4-1-2 formation vs West Ham United, with Dean Henderson in goal. Chris Richards will start alongside Maxence Lacroix and Marc Guehi in central defence. Daniel Munoz and Tyrick Mitchell will start as the wing-backs. They will look to help out at both ends of the pitch.
Will Hughes and Cheick Doucoure will add creativity and defensive cover to the side. Ismaila Sarr will start in the attacking midfield role, and he will look to link up with Jean-Philippe Mateta and Eddie Nketiah in the attack.
Probable Lineup (3-4-1-2): Henderson; Richards, Guehi, Lacroix; Munoz, Hughes, Doucoure, Mitchell; Sarr; Mateta, Nketiah
Key Stats
- Crystal Palace are undefeated in nine of their last 10 matches (Premier League).
- West Ham have conceded at least two goals in their last three matches (Premier League).
- 25 goals have been scored in the last six meetings between these two teams.
- Both teams have scored in five of the last six meetings between these two teams.
- West Ham have picked up just two wins from the last six matches in all competitions.
Player to Watch
Mohammed Kudus
The West Ham United attacker is our key player to watch out for this weekend. He has done quite well this season and he could be the game-changer for West Ham here. He will look to create goal-scoring opportunities in the final third and add to his goal-scoring tally for the season. He is capable of slotting into multiple attacking roles and West Ham will need him to step up and deliver if they want to grind out all three points.
Kudus is in impressive form right now, and he will be confident of affecting the game in the final third with his creativity and goal-scoring ability.
Prediction
West Ham United 1-1 Crystal Palace
Both teams will fancy their chances against each other, and this is likely to be a close contest. West Ham showed impressive character against Fulham and Crystal Palace are on an unbeaten run right now. Neither side will want to end up with a defeat here. It will be difficult to separate the two teams and they could cancel each other out. West Ham and Crystal Palace are likely to share the spoils in a draw this weekend.
