CRYSTAL PALACE and West Ham United continue their preparations for the new Premier League season as they meet in a friendly in Florida. Palace have looked sharp in preseason and will be confident of getting past the Hammers, who are still finding their feet.
Crystal Palace are having a solid preseason campaign as they are yet to taste defeat. They head into Sunday’s clash off the back of a 3-1 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers, with Jeffrey Schlupp and Jordan Ayew among the goals.
Something that will be pleasing to manager Oliver Glasner is the connection and understanding being built by the team. Summer signings like Daichi Kamada appear to be settling in well while established players like Ayew and Schlupp are still looking sharp.
In contrast to Crystal Palace’s fine showings, West Ham are still trying to find the feet in preseason. They have picked up just one win so far and were beaten 3-1 by Wolverhampton Wanderers in their previous fixture.
West Ham are still busy in the transfer market having already acquired Luis Guilherme and Max Kilman. Manager Julen Lopetegui is still attempting to transmit his ideas across, so it may take a while for the Hammers to get going.
How the bookies view it: Closely fought encounter
There is little to separate both teams among the bookies with a win for Crystal Palace priced at 7/5 by Betfred, who us also offering 8/5 for a West Ham victory. A draw is set at odds of 9/4 by Betfred
Head to head: Little to separate them
West Ham have a 15-12 edge with 14 draws from 41 previous matches against Crystal Palace. However, Palace were unbeaten in this fixture last season, playing out a 1-1 draw at the London Stadium before claiming a 5-2 victory at Selhurst Park.
Players to watch: Ayew to lead Palace attack
Jordan Ayew has impressed for Crystal Palace in preseason and was on target in the win over Wolverhampton Wanderers. Playing alongside the likes of Daichi Kamada and Odsonne Edouard, place could be backed to score first at 10/11 with Betfred.
West Ham will be keen to get Mohammed Kudus firing again, after an impressive debut season in the Premier League. The forward should feature in attack alongside Danny Ings and Luis Guilherme and all three men can help the Hammers get the opening goal at evens with Betfred
Probable line-ups
Jordan Ayew came off the bench to good effect last time out and could be given a start on Sunday. Daichi Kamada is also expected to feature while Joachim Anderson should continue at the heart of the defence.
Michail Antonio and Lucas Paqueta have joined West Ham’s training base in the US and could be in contention to feature on Sunday. Mohamned Kudus and James Ward-Prowse are also expected to play a part.
Crystal Palace: Henderson, Richards, Anderson, Riad, Clyne, Mitchell, Wharton, Hughes, Schlupp, Kamada, Ayew
West Ham: Fabianski, Coufal, Kilman, Mavropanos, Emerson, Ward-Prowse, Soucek, Potts, Kudus, Antonio, Cornet
Anything else catch the eye?
Crystal Palace and West Ham produced a seven-goal thriller in their previous meeting and could be set for another high scoring encounter. Over 4 5 goals could be on the cards at 4/1 with Betfred, who is also offering 7/4 for over 3.5 goals.
There were more goals after the break in Crystal Palace’s win over Wolverhampton Wanderers and a similar pattern is priced at 21/20 by Betfred.
This Club Friendly match between Crystal Palace and West Ham United will be played on Aug 4, 2024 and kick off at 00:00. Check below for our tipsters best Crystal Palace vs West Ham United prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
