At one point, it looked as though this match would have ramifications in the relegation battle. But with both sides now all but safe, it doesn’t mean there’s nothing to play for as here’s our Crystal Palace vs West Ham prediction and stats preview.
Crystal Palace v West Ham: Quick Stats
- West Ham the Opta supercomputer favourites to pick up the victory against Crystal Palace with a 35.9% chance of doing so.
- Crystal Palace hoping to make it a league double for the second time in four seasons with a victory.
- Will Michael Olise continue to catch the eye as a part of the Eagles revival under Roy Hodgson?
Match Preview
Saturday’s early kick-off is a London derby that at one point had the potential to be part of the relegation battle, but Crystal Palace and West Ham have pulled themselves away from the mire at the bottom of the table and look forward to planning for another season in the top-flight.
The Hammers have enjoyed their trips to south London in recent seasons, having lost just one of their last eight trips to Selhurst Park in the Premier League (W5 D2), winning each of the last two by a 3-2 scoreline. They’ve got a chance to equal a piece of club history, having only twice before in their league history scored three or more goals in three successive away games against an opponent, doing so against Man City in September 1966 and Watford in December 2021.
If there’s another reason why the visiting fans should be buoyed coming into this game, the Hammers are unbeaten in their last three Premier League games kicking at 12:30 on a Saturday (W1 D2), drawing their only such fixture this season (1-1 with Chelsea).
Meanwhile, the Eagles have failed to score in four of their last five Premier League games kicking off at that time, winning just one of their eight such home games in the competition (D1 L6) although they did beat Spurs 3-0 in their most recent such fixture.
With two of the Premier League’s mainstays in dugouts, it might be surprising to learn that David Moyes has lost just two of his last 12 Premier League games against sides managed by Roy Hodgson (W8 D2), going unbeaten in the last six (W4 D2).
Crystal Palace will be hoping to hear positive news after defender Joachim Anderson was withdrawn at half-time against Wolves with the expectation that he would be out for this game, whilst Wilfried Zaha has a 50% chance of being fit for the game. West Ham have no new concerns as they’ll continue to miss summer signing Gianluca Scamacca, with the midfielder having recently undergone knee surgery.
Last Meeting
West Ham 1-2 Crystal Palace: 6 November 2022 (Premier League)
Hodgson was not at the helm earlier in the season when the Eagles made the trip to the London Stadium and pulled off a 2-1 victory against a Hammers side who had struggled to 14 points from their opening 14 games, their lowest points tally at that stage of the season since 2017/18 (10).
Michael Olise netted an injury-time winner, Palace’s first triumph away from home this season, after Wilfred Zaha had cancelled out Sadio Benrahma’s opener for the hosts, leaving the Eagles looking to do the league double over West Ham for the second time in the last four campaigns (also in 2019-20) with victory on Saturday.
One thing we should be able to guarantee here though is goals. Both sides have found the back of the net in each of their last 11 Premier League meetings, with only successive games between Man City vs. Fulham (15) and Newcastle vs. Wolves (13) having seen both sides score more in Premier League history.
Recent Form
Both sides are coming into this game on the back of defeats that ended impressive unbeaten streaks that pulled them away their real relegation worries, with the duo each having won three, drawn two and lost two of their last six in the Premier League.
Roy Hodgson saw his side stutter against Wolves, seeing his four-game unbeaten run (W3 D1) since re-taking charge of the club coming to an end. He will be hoping to change their fortunes in London derbies this season as well, with the Eagles having won just one of their nine such games in the Premier League this season (D2 L6) and you already know what fixture they won.
West Ham fell to a 2-1 defeat against Liverpool on home soil in midweek, which was their seventh loss at the London Stadium this season – the most since the 2019-20 campaign where they lost nine. It put an end to a three-game unbeaten streak that has left them five points clear of the relegation zone with six matches remaining in the season.
One way they can pull themselves further away from if they can sort out their recent form away from home in London derbies, having lost six of their last seven in the Premier League although they did win their most recent such fixture, beating Fulham 1-0.
Players to Watch
Crystal Palace: Michael Olise
If there’s one player who has enjoyed playing with more freedom under Roy Hodgson, then Michael Olise fits that bill – settling in on the right-wing of Hodgson’s 4-3-3 formation and linking up well with Eberechi Eze.
His hat-trick of assists against Leeds may have been a slight outlier, having not registered any in his last nine other games, but he is continuing to play a part in creating opportunities for Palace and it will be interesting to see if these numbers sustain themselves throughout the rest of the season.
Olise has taken a shine to facing off against West Ham, having scored and assisted in this exact fixture last season, while he’s netted in each of his two Premier League appearances against West Ham to date. With rumours swirling of a potential end-of-season move to Arsenal amongst others, another chance to shine here might just up that fee a little bit.
West Ham: Manuel Lanzini
Unused as a substitute against Liverpool, and although he has only made seven appearances in the Premier League this season, perhaps this could be the chance for Manuel Lanzini to be part of the West Ham line-up on Saturday against an opponent he’s had more success than any other Premier League side.
The Argentinian has been involved in seven and scored six Premier League goals against the Eagles, include that famous brace from last season when the Hammers recorded a 3-2 victory in this exact fixture.
His contract at the London Stadium is continuing to wind down, with seemingly no resolution other than his departure from the club come the end of season. Maybe this will be the chance for one last hurrah.
Crystal Palace vs West Ham Prediction
It looks as though West Ham will be the ones celebrating come the end of Saturday’s game, with the Opta supercomputer making them the slightest of favourites (35.9%) to pick up the victory.
Crystal Palace aren’t exactly out of the reckoning for this game with a 34.3% chance themselves of taking the win.
Both sides chances of relegation are below 1%, which will come as a relief to both fanbases. Our season long prediction sees Palace most likely to finish in 12th place in the table, with a 34.6% chance of doing, whilst the Hammers may have to settle for 14th, with a 25.9% hope of finishing there.
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