West Ham United and Crystal Palace lock horns in an all-capital clash in the Premier League at the London Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Graham Potter era at West Ham got off to a disappointing start as West Ham fell to a 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa in the FA Cup last Friday, on a night where both of my Villa Park plays landed.
However, the Hammers bounced back from that setback by claiming a 3-2 win over Fulham in the Premier League on Tuesday night.
That triumph moved West Ham up to 12th place in the table and another victory here could catapult them into the top-half of the standings.
Similarly, Crystal Palace will come into this clash in high spirits after winning 2-0 away at Leicester on Wednesday night, with all three of Kevin Mac’s bets copping at the King Power.
Victory moved the Eagles eight points above the relegation zone and extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to five matches.
How the bookies view it: Irons to edge it
The bookmakers are struggling to separate the pair, with West Ham marginal favourites at 6/4 on Boylesports.
Crystal Palace are 17/10 outsiders on Boylesports to claim top honours, while a share of the London Stadium spoils has been priced up at 23/10 with the same firm.
Head to head: Hammers seeking rare home win
West Ham are without a win in each of their last five Premier League home games with Crystal Palace. The Hammers tend to fare better when taking on the Eagles at Selhurst Park – where they won 2-0 earlier this season.
Players to watch: Paqueta to clip Eagles wings?
Lucas Paqueta appears to be having a new lease of life under Graham Potter's guidance. The Brazilian has scored in each of his last two outings and a repeat here looks worthy of interest at 7/2 (Boylesports).
Jean-Philippe Mateta has made the net bulge in each of his last two Premier League outings. The French forward is 9/4 on Boylesports to repeat the trick this weekend.
Predicted line-ups
West Ham will be unable to call upon the services of attacking trio Jarrod Bowen, Michail Antonio and Niclas Fullkrug, while Crysencio Summerville and Jean-Clair Todibo are rated as doubtful.
Jefferson Lerma could miss out after coming off early in the first-half against Leicester in midweek, while Chelsea have chosen to recall defender Trevoh Chalobah from his loan spell at Selhurst Park.
West Ham: Fabianski; Wan-Bissaka, Mavropanos, Kilman, Emerson; Alvarez, Rodriguez; Kudus, Soucek, Soler; Paqueta
Crystal Palace: Henderson; Richards, Lacroix, Guehi; Munoz, Hughes, Doucoure, Mitchell; Sarr, Mateta, Eze
Anything else catch the eye?
A case could be made for either team to come up trumps here, so I’ll instead back both teams to score alongside each team to receive a card at 5/6 on Bet 365.
Both teams have hit the back of the net in eight of West Ham’s 11 Premier League home games this season, while this would have also been the correct selection in six of Crystal Palace’s 11 top-flight road trips this term.
From a cards perspective, the Hammers are receiving an average of 2.29 bookings per-game in the Premier League this season, while the Eagles are similar with their tally of 2.14
It’s also worth noting that this Bet Builder would have paid out in seven of West Ham’s last 10 matches across all competitions.
This English Premier League match between West Ham United and Crystal Palace will be played on Jan 18, 2025 and kick off at 15:00. Check below for our tipsters best West Ham United vs Crystal Palace prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
