For the traditional Boxing Day fixture, Palace entertain West Ham United at Sehurst Park seeking their first double of the season after victory earlier in the season at the London Stadium.
DATE
26th December 2019
KICK OFF
3pm
VENUE
Selhurst Park Stadium, Holmesdale Road, Selhurst, London SE25 6PU
LAST SEASON
In this fixture last season, Mark Noble gave the visitors a first half lead from the penalty spot, but once again Wilfried Zaha found a way of popping up at just the right time to find the equaliser for the Eagles with a little over ten minutes left to play.
OFFICIALS
REFEREE – Andre Marriner
ASSISTANTS – Harry Lennard, Richard West, Tom Nield (fourth official)
VAR – Andy Madley, Andy Garratt (assistant)
INJURIES
PALACE – Joel Ward, Jeffrey Schlupp, Gary Cahill, Scott Dann, Andros Townsend
WEST HAM – Manuel Lanzini, Lukasz Fabianski, Jack Wilshere, David Martin
SUSPENSIONS
Ryan Fredericks
DISCIPLINE
Red cards – Mamadou Sakho (1), Arthur Masuaku (1)
Yellow cards (3+) – Luka Milivojevic (7), Issa Diop (5), Ryan Fredericks (5), Aaron Cresswell (4), Robert Snodgrass (4), James McCarthy (3), Jordan Ayew (3), Wilfried Zaha (3), Declan Rice (3)
FORM GUIDE
Last FIVE meetings between the two sides;
- 05/10/2019 West Ham United 1-2 Crystal Palace
- 09/02/2019 Crystal Palace 1-1 West Ham United
- 08/12/2018 West Ham United 3-2 Crystal Palace
- 30/01/2018 West Ham United 1-1 Crystal Palace
- 28/10/2017 Crystal Palace 2-2 West Ham United
Last FIVE results for Palace;
- 21/12/2019 Newcastle United 1-0 Crystal Palace
- 16/12/2019 Crystal Palace 1-1 Brighton & Hove Albion
- 07/12/2019 Watford 0-0 Crystal Palace
- 03/12/2019 Crystal Palace 1-0 Bournemouth
- 30/11/2019 Burnley 0-2 Crystal Palace
Last FIVE results for West Ham;
- 14/12/2019 Southampton 0-1 West ham United
- 09/12/2019 West Ham United 1-3 Arsenal
- 04/12/2019 Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-0 West Ham United
- 30/11/2019 Chelsea 0-1 West Ham United
- 23/11/2019 2-3 Tottenham Hotspur
RECORD AGAINST WEST HAM
- Played 41
- Won 8
- Drawn 15
- Lost 18
FORM PLAYERS
Top two rated players from each team so far this season according to Who Scored;
- Sebastien Haller 7.15
- Wilfried Zaha 7.13
- Felipe Anderson 7.13
- James McArthur 6.97
ONE TO WATCH
MICHAIL ANTONIO
Former clubs – Tooting & Mitcham United, Reading, Cheltenham Town (loan), Southampton (loan), Colchester United (loan), Sheffield Wednesday, Nottingham Forest
You could say the 29 year old is making the most of his shot at the big time after doing the rounds at a number of clubs which includes five spells on loan. Since joining the Hammers in 2015, he has made over 100 appearances for the club, and has found good form of late which the Eagles will be well aware of.
KEY CLASH
LUKA MILIVOJEVIC v MARK NOBLE
Many have questioned the form of the Palace captain this season but that is perhaps much to do with how good he was last season. This will be quite a match up and will be tested by the Hammers captain who is always a competitive force to be up against and often puts in a performance against the Eagles. The result of this game will have a lot to do with who wins this midfield battle.
PRE-GAME STATS
- Palace have not beaten the Hammers at Selhurst Park since a 1-0 win in December 2013
- Top scorers – Sebastien Haller (5), Jordan Ayew (4)
- Top assisters – Pablo Fornals (3), Felipe Anderson (3)
- Top passers – Declan Rice (828), Luka Milivojevic (810)
- Top tacklers – Declan Rice (51), Ryan Fredericks (50)
- Palace have only lost once to the Hammers in the last five league matches
PREDICTION
A growing injury list for the hosts but the return of Mamadou Sakho from suspension will be welcome in a position that has become thin on the ground. The opposition will have had more rest having not had a game at the weekend but whether that wil be a good think or not remains to be seen. Palace could do with returning to winning ways and we back them to do that – just.
Final score: 1-0 (Ayew)
OPPOSITION VIEW
We had a chat with the guys at Green Street Hammers to find out their thoughts on our game earlier in the season, the season so far and much more.
BETTING ODDS
- Home – 5/4
- Draw – 12/5
- Away – 2/1
- Both teams to score – 13/20
