With four defeats in five games, Roy Hodgson takes his side across London to take on the Hammers after much speculation about his future at the club following the defeat to Luton last time out.
MATCH INFORMATION
- 2pm – 3rd December 2023
-
London Stadium, London E20 2ST
PREVIOUS MEETING
Palace last made the short trip to the London Stadium last November and despite going a goal behind to a Said Benrahma strike, the visitors rallied and found an equalisser right before the break from Wilfreid Zaha. All three points were grabbed in injury time thanks to Michael Olise
MAN OF THE MATCH – Michael Olise (8.0)
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Michael Oliver. Assistants: Stuart Burt, Dan Cook. Fourth official: Darren Bond. VAR: Peter Bankes. Assistant VAR: Constantine Hatzidakis.
TEAM NEWS
PALACE – Jesurun Rak-Sakyi (thigh), Dean Henderson (thigh), Eberechi Eze (ankle), and Cheick Doucoure (achilles) are all ruled out while James Tomkins (calf) is expected to be available.
WEST HAM – Michail Antonio (knee) will miss out while Jarrod Bowen (knee) and Mohammed Kudos (illness) are both doubts.
DISCIPLINARY RECORD
RED CARDS – Nayef Aguerd (1)
YELLOW CARDS (3+) – Emerson (6), Edson Alvarez (6), Lucas Paqueta (5), Jordan Ayew (4), Joel Ward (3)
FORM GUIDE
Last FIVE meetings between the two sides;
- 29/04/23 Palace 4-3 West Ham
- 06/11/22 West Ham 1-2 Palace
- 01/01/22 Palace 2-3 West Ham
- 28/08/21 West Ham 2-2 Palace
- 26/01/21 Palace 2-3 West Ham
Last FIVE results for Palace:
- 24/11/23 Luton 2-1 Palace
- 11/11/23 Palace 2-3 Everton
- 04/11/23 Burnley 0-2 Palace
- 27/10/23 Palace 1-2 Spurs
- 21/10/23 Newcastle 4-0 Palace
Last FIVE results for West Ham;
- 30/11/23 Backa Topola 0-1 West Ham
- 25/11/23 Burnley 1-2 West Ham
- 12/11/23 West Ham 3-2 Forest
- 09/11/23 West Ham 1-0 Olympiacos
- 04/11/23 Brentford 3-2 West Ham
LEAGUE POSITION
Heading into the fixture, Palace are 13th in the Premier League with 15 points from 13 games played, while West Ham are 9th with 20 points from the same amount of games.
RECORD AGAINST WEST HAM
- Played 48
- Won 11
- Drawn 17
- Lost 20
FORM PLAYERS ACCORDING TO WHO SCORED
- Eberechi Eze 7.40
- Jarrod Bowen 7.34
- Lucas Paqueta 7.26
- Joachim Andersen 7.17
ONE TO WATCH
LUCAS PAQUETA
FORMER CLUBS – Flamengo, AC Milan, Lyon
The talented Brazilian has been an terrific signing for West Ham and is closing in on 50 appearances for the club already after joining in August 2022. There has been more reliance on the 26 year old since the departure of Declan Rice but he has adapted to that loss well so far this season.
KEY CLASH
JEFFERSON LERMA v JAMES WARD-PROWSE
With the expected lengthy absence of fellow midfielder Cheick Doucoure, the brunt of the expectation from the middle of the park will sit on the Colombians shoulders. Even in defeat, he was excellent against Luton last weekend but will need to be as good in this game against England international and set piece specialist, Ward-Prowse who has settled in very well with the Hammers.
PRE-MATCH STATS
- GOALS – Odsonne Edouard (5 – 13th in PL)
- ASSISTS – Jordan Ayew/ Jean-Philippe Mateta (3 – 13th in PL)
- PASSES – Joachim Andersen (817– 13th in PL))
- TACKLES – Cheick Doucoure (34– 9th in PL)
- TOUCHES – Joachim Andersen (1009 – 11th in PL))
- SHOTS – Odsonne Edouard (33 – 10th in PL)
- FOULS – Jordan Ayew (21 – 8th in PL)
- DISPOSSESSED – Jordan Ayew (38 – 2nd in PL)
- SAVES – Sam Johnstone (30 – 17th in PL)
- CLEARANCES – Joachim Andersen (76 – 2nd in PL)
- BIG CHANCES MISSED – Jordan Ayew (3)
THE NUMBERS
West Ham lost both Premier League games against Palace last season – as many defeats as they had suffered in their previous 14 against the Eagles. They have never lost 3 in a row against them in league competition before.
Palace have won just 2 of their 16 Premier League London derby matches since the start of last season (D5 L9), although both of these victories have come against West Ham.
West Ham have won their last 2 Premier League games despite falling behind in both games, having won only 2 of their previous 45 games when going behind (D10 L33). It’s the first time the Hammers have won consecutive games despite trailing in each since December 2014 against West Brom and Swansea.
Palace have lost 4 of their last 5 Premier League games (W1), as many as they did in their first 18 games of Roy Hodgson’s second spell in charge (W8 D6 L4). Palace have not lost 3 in a row under Hodgson since May 2021.
50% of Tomas Soucek’s Premier League goals for West Ham United have come from set plays (12/24 – 9 from corners, 3 free kicks). Since February 2020, the only player with more goals from set plays (excluding penalties and direct free-kicks) is Mohamed Salah (13).
Palace’s Michael Olise has been involved in 7 goals in his last 10 Premier League starts (1 goal, 6 assists). Since his debut in September 2021, only Bukayo Saka (46) and Gabriel Martinelli (32) have more Premier League goal involvements while aged 21 or younger than Olise (21 – 5 goals, 16 assists).
TEB PREDICTION
The London Stadium has been a relatively happy hunting ground for the Eagles in recent visits and that needs to continue if they are to prevent a third loss in a row. It is likely that the hosts will have their Europa League victory on Thursday in their legs and will have to change their tactics a little against Palace. That will all make for an interesting contest. A point would be welcome.
FINAL SCORE: 1-1
RESOURCES
