West Ham welcome Crystal Palace to the London Stadium in a London derby.
Victory could see West Ham climb to ninth for at least a few hours, whilst Palace could go as high as eighth with a win depending on their winning margin.
Team News
West Ham have no fresh injury concerns to report following their 3-0 away win at FCSB in Europa Conference League, as Lukasz Fabianski looks to return from a knee injury suffered in their last domestic outing in ana way defeat at Manchester United.
Lucas Paqueta (shoulder) could also feature but Maxwel Cornet won’t be risked unless match-fit.
First-team regulars like Declan Rice and Michail Antonio meanwhile look to return after they were rested on Thursday evening, although some fringe and youth players could stake their place for a starting spot after impressing at FCSB.
Crystal Palace could be without Odsonne Edouard due to a knock although he will be handed a late fitness test.
Cheick Doucoure (knock) could also return but Chris Richards (leg) and James McArthur (groin) both remain absent.
Stat Attack
- West Ham are unbeaten in five of their last seven league meetings against Crystal Palace (W2, D3, L2), although both wins came away from London Stadium.
- Crystal Palace are unbeaten in four of their last five visits to London Stadium (W1, D3, L1).
- West Ham’s Michail Antonio scored in both meetings against Palace last season (W1, D1).
- Palace have conceded first in both meetings against David Moyes’ Hammers last season.
- Both teams have scored in each of their last ten meetings, with West Ham netting 18 goals to Palace’s 17 goals in total across those ten clashes.
Prediction
Having rested several first-team regulars in Thursday’s trip to FCSB, I am interested to see whether that decision pays off given that David Moyes’ previous gamble ahead of last weekend’s league trip to Manchester United didn’t really work out with poor finishing costing the Hammers.
I though wouldn’t be surprised if some players like Oliver Scarles has given Moyes a selection headache following various mature performances with passion which some regulars have lacked at points, but whoever starts now need to build upon the positives of recent weeks.
Palace meanwhile were lucky to win at home to Southampton last weekend because despite their dominance, they did seem wasteful of their chances but an excellent defensive effort – particularly in their backtracking – proved crucial alongside a clinical final touch.
This fixture though has a habit of producing goals so I am expecting a competitive encounter but given how both teams have performed so far this season, I don’t see a high-scoring result.
Prediction: West Ham 1-1 Crystal Palace
Result: West Ham 1-2 Crystal Palace