Crystal Palace vs. West Ham – Betting Tips and Premier League Preview

Crystal Palace achieved a crucial victory in their previous match against Fulham and are now four points off the relegation zone. However, Roy Hodgson’s team isn’t safe yet, so they would need to continue picking up points, especially at home. The new striker Michy Batshuayi who came on loan from Chelsea came as a sub in that match and instantly made an impact, which means Palace now have another offensive threat in their squad. West Ham managed to hold off the league leaders Liverpool to a 1-1 draw after an impressive performance at home, but now they are playing away at Selhurst Park. The Hammers lost their last three away fixtures in the league without even scoring a goal, so this could prove to be a huge advantage for Palace.

Team News

Wilfried Zaha missed the match against Fulham after a suspension, but now the forward is back and ready to help his team. The only doubt for Palace is midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate who has an ankle injury and will be assessed before the match. Pape Souare is out with a long term injury.

Unlike Crystal Palace, West Ham have a lot of injury problems in their squad at the moment. Defenders Winston Reid and Fabian Balbuena are injured, which means the partnership at the back will be Ogbonna and Diop. In the middle of the pitch, things don’t look bright either. Carlos Sanchez, Jack Wilshere, Manuel Lanzini and Andriy Yarmolenko will surely miss the game, while Samir Nasri is a doubt for the trip to Selhurst Park. However, probably the biggest problem for the West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini is the condition of Marko Arnautovic who is also a doubt for the game. The Chilean would like to have at least one of him or Nasri available if his team want to snatch something away from Palace.

Prediction

The win against Fulham will give Palace some breathing space, but they shouldn’t become complacent because each point could be crucial in the relegation battle. The biggest advantage they have over their opponents in the fact that they are playing at home. West Ham’s away record has been terrible recently. The Hammers lost their last three away fixtures and failed to score in three of them, whilst conceding at least two goals in two of them. If we add their injury problems to the equation and the fact that Zaha will be back in the Palace side, I think a win for the home team seems like the most likely outcome. However, the game is going to be pretty close and if Palace win I don’t see them doing so by a margin bigger than one, especially considering West Ham’s decent record when playing at Selhurst Park.