Crystal Palace vs. West Ham
Venue: Selhurst Park
Kick off: 6:30PM
West Ham United will be looking to boost their top-four hopes in the Premier League when they head to Selhurst Park this evening to take on Crystal Palace.
The Hammers will enter the contest off the back of a 4-1 win at Watford, while Palace recorded a 3-0 victory over basement side Norwich City last time out.
Palace boss Patrick Vieira was again not on the touchline against Norwich on Tuesday, having recently tested positive for coronavirus, but assistant manager Osian Roberts managed to lead the team to a 3-0 victory over the Canaries at Selhurst Park.
A brilliant first-half performance saw the Eagles score three times against the league’s basement side, with Odsonne Edouard, Jean-Philippe Mateta and Jeffrey Schlupp finding the back of the net.
Palace have won five, drawn eight and lost six of their 19 Premier League matches this season to collect 23 points, which has left them in 11th spot in the table, only two points behind eighth-placed Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The Eagles have been impressive at Selhurst Park this season, suffering just one league defeat in front of their own supporters, while they have picked up seven points from their last three home league fixtures.
Palace have only been victorious in two of their last 13 top-flight matches against the Hammers, though, and suffered a 3-2 loss in the corresponding fixture between the two sides last term.
West Ham managed to return to winning ways in impressive fashion on Tuesday afternoon, coming from behind to record a 4-1 victory over relegation-threatened Watford, with the result following back-to-back losses against Arsenal and Southampton, which had seen them lose ground in the top-four race.
The win over the Hornets was therefore incredibly important, and they are firmly in the top-four mix at this stage, currently sitting fifth in the table, four points behind fourth-placed Arsenal.
David Moyes’s side were knocked out of the EFL Cup by rivals Tottenham Hotspur earlier this month but will be in FA Cup action against Leeds United on January 9, while they impressively topped their Europa League group to secure a spot in the knockout round of the competition.
The 2021-22 campaign could be a famous season for West Ham, but they have two difficult away Premier League games in January, facing Palace on New Year’s Day before visiting Manchester United later in the month.
The 4-1 success over Watford would have boosted confidence, but Moyes’s side have lost three of their last five away fixtures in the Premier League, picking up just four points in the process.
Crystal Palace possible XI: Butlan, Ward, Tomkins, Guehi, Mitchell, Gallagher, Kouyate, Schlupp, Ayew, Edouard, Zaha.
West Ham United possible XI: Fabianski, Coufal, Dawson, Diop, Johnson; Soucek, Rice, Bowen, Lanzini, Benrahma, Antonio.