The Eagles make the short trek across London this weekend to take on the Hammers at the London Stadium, and a repeat of the last season would be very welcome.
The players clocked up 16 games unbeaten in midweek as they edged past local rivals Millwall in the EFL Cup which is an incredible achievement as the games come thick and fast.
As Oliver Glasner stated in his post match reaction following the victory courtesy of penalty kicks, that is eight games already clocked up this campaign and will soon be hitting double figure before reaching the month of October.
For that reason, it makes the achievement so much more impressive but there are signs in some of the legs out there that rests may be needed, none more so than Jean-Philippe Mateta who looked very leggy against Sunderland, and uncharacteristically missed an open goal against Millwall.
He will not be alone, you only have to look at the mileage that Chris Richards, Daichi Kamada, Daniel Munoz, and Jefferson Lerma have clocked up on international duty, not to mention Marc Guehi, and Dean Henderson.
These are the things that a successful club have to contend with, and it will be a welcome sight to have Adam Wharton, and Eddie Nketiah returning for this fixture while Ismaila Sarr is expected to be fit for the Liverpool game.
There have already been plenty of boxes ticked so far this season – winning the Community Shield, successfully navigating the Conference League play-off, and making it through to the fourth round of the EFL Cup, while at the same time remaining unbeaten in the league after four games played.
The fifth game sees a struggling West Ham United as the opponents, who have been very Jekyll and Hyde this season – four games played, lost three but the one win was an impressive 3-0 victory at the City Ground against the free spending Nottingham Forest.
The pressure certainly appears to have been heaped onto the shoulders of former Brighton and Chelsea boss Graham Potter, with many suggesting that the result of this fixture could be pivotal for him particularly after the heavy home loss to Spurs last weekend.
As for Palace, it will be much the same as Glasner will continue to work with the new signings, with Jaydee Canvot particularly impressing on his debut in the week. There will be more to see from Yeremy Pinot and Christantus Uche, but Walter Benitez has shown just what an improvement he is for the reserve keeper ranks, and will be expected to push Henderson this season.
It is perhaps not expected that Wharton and Nketiah will make a start in this fixture, but certainly the latter will hopefully allow Mateta to have a break is only for twenty minutes on Saturday.
Expectations are that the starting line up will mirror that against Sunderland last weekend, with several players making their way back to full fitness, but the bench should look a little stronger.
🏟️ Fixture Overview
- Kick-off: 3pm BST
- Venue: London Stadium
- TV Coverage (UK): Not televised
- Streaming (UK): Not available
🔵 Crystal Palace Preview
- Form: Unbeaten in all 8 matches so far this season.
- Recent Highlights:
- Won the Community Shield against Liverpool.
- Advanced in the EFL Cup after beating Millwall on penalties.
- Strengths:
- Defensively solid — only 0.4 goals conceded per match.
- Resilient and hard to beat.
- Weaknesses:
- Attack still lacks fluency.
- Prediction Edge: Palace are tipped to win or draw, with a 74.13% win rate compared to West Ham’s 44.15%.
⚒️ West Ham Preview
- Form: Poor — lost 3 of their last 4 league games.
- Recent Results:
- Suffered a 3-0 defeat to Spurs.
- Conceded 11 goals in 3 matches.
- Manager Pressure: Graham Potter is under scrutiny; another loss could end his tenure.
- Team News:
- Tomas Soucek is suspended (red card v Spurs).
- Possible debuts for Igor Julio (defender) and Soungoutou Magassa (midfielder).
📊 Head-to-Head & Stats
- Last Season: Each team won one fixture (2-0 each).
- Goals Scored per Match:
- West Ham: 1.3
- Crystal Palace: 1.6
- Goals Conceded per Match:
- West Ham: 2.0
- Crystal Palace: 0.4
🔮 Predictions
- Supercomputer Odds:
- Crystal Palace win: 48.9%
- Draw: 23.9%
- West Ham win: 27.2%
- Suggested Bet: Draw or Crystal Palace win (odds: 1.43)
- Score Prediction: West Ham 1 – 2 Crystal Palace
